Haguy Wolfenson

TL;DR: Mechanobiology has emerged as a discipline dedicated to the study of the effects of mechanical forces and geometry on cell growth and motility through the signalling process of mechanotransduction.

TL;DR: Integrin-mediated environmental sensing enables cells to adapt to chemical and physical properties of the surrounding matrix by modulating their proliferation, differentiation, and survival.

TL;DR: This work presents direct evidence that actomyosin contractility regulates the molecular kinetics of FAs, and shows that the molecular turnover of proteins within FAs is primarily regulated by their dissociation rate constant (koff), which is sensitive to changes in forces applied to the FA.

TL;DR: High temporal- and spatial-resolution tracking of contractile forces by plating cells on sub-micrometre elastomeric pillars finds that actomyosin-based sarcomere-like contractile units (CUs) simultaneously moved opposing pillars in net steps of ∼2.5 nm, independent of rigidity, which concludes that tropomyOSin 2.1 acts as a suppressor of growth on soft matrices by supporting proper rigidity sensing.

TL;DR: Detailed descriptions of the steps involved in sensing and responding to the microenvironment are needed to better understand both the mechanisms of tissue homeostasis and the pathomechanisms of human disease.