Study of mechanosensing proteins by Magnetic tweezers (MT) (CAT#: STEM-MB-1244-WXH)

Introduction

In tissues, cells need to adapt to their microenvironment by sensing various chemical and physical cues. Recent development in cell biology has demonstrated mechanical force as one of the critical determinants involved in cell migration, cell differentiation, tissue development and maintenance. In tissues, cells adhere to extracellular matrix (ECM) through formation of integrin dependent focal adhesion and to the neighboring cells through cadherin dependent cell–cell adherens junctions. Forces are generated by actomyosin contraction, and propagated in the whole tissue. Force sensing of cells is mediated by a set of mechanosensing proteins located at focal adhesion and cell–cell adherens junctions as well as in the cytoskeleton network.