Role of nuclear mechanosensitivity in determining cellular responses to forces and biomaterials

Abstract

Tissue engineers use biomaterials or apply forces to alter cell behaviors and cure damaged/diseased tissues. The external physical cues perceived by cells are transduced intracellularly along the mechanosensitive machineries, including subcellular adhesion molecules and cytoskeletons. The signals are further channeled to a nucleus through the physical links of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton or the biochemical translocation of transcription factors. Thus, the external cues are thought to affect directly or indirectly the nucleus and the genetic transcriptional process, ultimately determining cell fate. Here we communicate the importance of such mechanotransductory processes in cell and tissue engineering where external forces- or biomaterials-related physical cues essentially regulate cellular behaviors, with an emphasis on the mechanosensing and signaling along the road to a nucleus.