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Mechanobiology of Cell-Cell and Cell-Matrix Interactions pp 11–22Cite as

Substrate Elasticity as a Probe to Measure Mechanosensing at Cell-Cell and Cell-Matrix Junctions

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Abstract

In vivo, most cells are mechanically and chemically connected to other cells or to a variety of polymeric networks generically called the extracellular matrix (ECM). Adhesive contacts are formed by distinct classes of transmembrane protein complexes that have specific binding sites for extracellular targets on one side of the membrane and cytoplasmic domains that engage specific elements of the cytoskeleton and signal transduction systems. Engagement of cell-cell or cell-matrix contact both initiates and depends on mechanical signaling from inside and outside the cell, but also depends on the forces generated at the cell-cell or cell-ECM junction. This chapter will summarize some recent studies of mechanotransduction at cell adhesion sites and present examples of the interplay between cell-cell or cell-matrix contacts in fibroblasts, endothelial cells, cardiac myocytes, T lymphocytes and other cell types.

This chapter is part of Section I: Mechanisms of Cell Adhesion and Mechanotransduction

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Paul A. Janmey

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  1. Jessamine P. Winer
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  2. Anant Chopra
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  3. J. Yasha Kresh
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  4. Paul A. Janmey
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Correspondence to Paul A. Janmey .

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  1. , Department of Mechanical & Industrial, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1206 W. Green St., Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    A. Wagoner Johnson

  2. , Department of Chemical & Biomolecular, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    Brendan A.C. Harley

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Winer, J.P., Chopra, A., Kresh, J.Y., Janmey, P.A. (2011). Substrate Elasticity as a Probe to Measure Mechanosensing at Cell-Cell and Cell-Matrix Junctions. In: Wagoner Johnson, A., Harley, B. (eds) Mechanobiology of Cell-Cell and Cell-Matrix Interactions. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8083-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8083-0_2

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