Coordinated Mechanosensitivity of Membrane Rafts and Focal Adhesions

Deciphering mechanical cues in the microenvironment: from non-malignant settings to tumor progression

The tumor microenvironment functions as a dynamic and intricate ecosystem, comprising a diverse array of cellular and non-cellular components that precisely orchestrate pivotal tumor behaviors, including invasion, metastasis, and drug resistance. While unraveling the intricate interplay between the tumor microenvironment and tumor behaviors represents a tremendous challenge, recent research illuminates a crucial biological phenomenon known as cellular mechanotransduction. Within the microenvironment, mechanical cues like tensile stress, shear stress, and stiffness play a pivotal role by activating mechanosensitive effectors such as PIEZO proteins, integrins, and Yes-associated protein. This activation initiates cascades of intrinsic signaling pathways, effectively linking the physical properties of tissues to their physiological and pathophysiological processes like morphogenesis, regeneration, and immunity. This mechanistic insight offers a novel perspective on how the mechanical cues within the tumor microenvironment impact tumor behaviors. While the intricacies of the mechanical tumor microenvironment are yet to be fully elucidated, it exhibits distinct physical attributes from non-malignant tissues, including elevated solid stresses, interstitial hypertension, augmented matrix stiffness, and enhanced viscoelasticity. These traits exert notable influences on tumor progression and treatment responses, enriching our comprehension of the multifaceted nature of the microenvironment. Through this innovative review, we aim to provide a new lens to decipher the mechanical attributes within the tumor microenvironment from non-malignant contexts, broadening our knowledge on how these factors promote or inhibit tumor behaviors, and thus offering valuable insights to identify potential targets for anti-tumor strategies.

Mechanotransduction and epigenetic modulations of chromatin: Role of mechanical signals in gene regulation

Mechanical forces may be generated within a cell due to tissue stiffness, cytoskeletal reorganization, and the changes (even subtle) in the cell's physical surroundings. These changes of forces impose a mechanical tension within the intracellular protein network (both cytosolic and nuclear). Mechanical tension could be released by a series of protein-protein interactions often facilitated by membrane lipids, lectins and sugar molecules and thus generate a type of signal to drive cellular processes, including cell differentiation, polarity, growth, adhesion, movement, and survival. Recent experimental data have accentuated the molecular mechanism of this mechanical signal transduction pathway, dubbed mechanotransduction. Mechanosensitive proteins in the cell's plasma membrane discern the physical forces and channel the information to the cell interior. Cells respond to the message by altering their cytoskeletal arrangement and directly transmitting the signal to the nucleus through the connection of the cytoskeleton and nucleoskeleton before the information despatched to the nucleus by biochemical signaling pathways. Nuclear transmission of the force leads to the activation of chromatin modifiers and modulation of the epigenetic landscape, inducing chromatin reorganization and gene expression regulation; by the time chemical messengers (transcription factors) arrive into the nucleus. While significant research has been done on the role of mechanotransduction in tumor development and cancer progression/metastasis, the mechanistic basis of force-activated carcinogenesis is still enigmatic. Here, in this review, we have discussed the various cues and molecular connections to better comprehend the cellular mechanotransduction pathway, and we also explored the detailed role of some of the multiple players (proteins and macromolecular complexes) involved in mechanotransduction. Thus, we have described an avenue: how mechanical stress directs the epigenetic modifiers to modulate the epigenome of the cells and how aberrant stress leads to the cancer phenotype.

Sonomechanobiology: Vibrational stimulation of cells and its therapeutic implications

All cells possess an innate ability to respond to a range of mechanical stimuli through their complex internal machinery. This comprises various mechanosensory elements that detect these mechanical cues and diverse cytoskeletal structures that transmit the force to different parts of the cell, where they are transcribed into complex transcriptomic and signaling events that determine their response and fate. In contrast to static (or steady) mechanostimuli primarily involving constant-force loading such as compression, tension, and shear (or forces applied at very low oscillatory frequencies (≤ 1 Hz) that essentially render their effects quasi-static), dynamic mechanostimuli comprising more complex vibrational forms (e.g., time-dependent, i.e., periodic, forcing) at higher frequencies are less well understood in comparison. We review the mechanotransductive processes associated with such acoustic forcing, typically at ultrasonic frequencies (> 20 kHz), and discuss the various applications that arise from the cellular responses that are generated, particularly for regenerative therapeutics, such as exosome biogenesis, stem cell differentiation, and endothelial barrier modulation. Finally, we offer perspectives on the possible existence of a universal mechanism that is common across all forms of acoustically driven mechanostimuli that underscores the central role of the cell membrane as the key effector, and calcium as the dominant second messenger, in the mechanotransduction process.

CLN7/MFSD8 may be an important factor for SARS-CoV-2 cell entry

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has triggered a worldwide pandemic. According to the BioGrid database, CLN7 (MFSD8) is thought to interact with several viral proteins. The aim of this work was to investigate a possible involvement of CLN7 in the infection process. Experiments on a CLN7-deficient HEK293T cell line exhibited a 90% reduced viral load compared to wild-type cells. This observation may be linked to the finding that CLN7 ko cells have a significantly reduced GM1 content in their cell membrane. GM1 is found highly enriched in lipid rafts, which are thought to play an important role in SARS-CoV-2 infection. In contrast, overexpression of CLN7 led to an increase in viral load. This study provides evidence that CLN7 is involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection. This makes it a potential pharmacological target for drug development against COVID-19. Furthermore, it provides insights into the physiological function of CLN7 where still only little is known about.

Advances in Cell-Conductive Polymer Biointerfaces and Role of the Plasma Membrane

The plasma membrane (PM) is often described as a wall, a physical barrier separating the cell cytoplasm from the extracellular matrix (ECM). Yet, this wall is a highly dynamic structure that can stretch, bend, and bud, allowing cells to respond and adapt to their surrounding environment. Inspired by shapes and geometries found in the biological world and exploiting the intrinsic properties of conductive polymers (CPs), several biomimetic strategies based on substrate dimensionality have been tailored in order to optimize the cell-chip coupling. Furthermore, device biofunctionalization through the use of ECM proteins or lipid bilayers have proven successful approaches to further maximize interfacial interactions. As the bio-electronic field aims at narrowing the gap between the electronic and the biological world, the possibility of effectively disguising conductive materials to "trick" cells to recognize artificial devices as part of their biological environment is a promising approach on the road to the seamless platform integration with cells.

[Research Progress in Mechanotransduction Process of Mechanical-Stress-Induced Autophagy]

As a self-protective mechanism for cells to obtain energy by degrading their own structures or substances, autophagy widely occurs in basic physiological process of all kinds of eukaryotic cells. In recent years, studies have shown that autophagy can be induced through a variety of mechanical transduction pathways when various tissues and cells are exposed to different types of mechanical stress, and cells and tissues involved can thus regulate cell metabolic functions and participate in the pathological process of a variety of diseases. The stress receptors on the cell membrane and the multiple signaling pathways and cytoskeletons have been shown to play an important role in this process. At present, due to the difficulties in the establishment of the stress loading model and the limitations in the research methods concerned, the specific mechanical transduction mechanisms of autophagy induced by mechanical stress is not clear. Therefore, more reliable in vitro and in vivo models and more advanced research methodology are needed to investigate the mechanical transduction process of autophagy induced by mechanical stress, and to promote ultimately progress in the understanding of autophagy-related diseases and their treatments. This article reviewed the regulatory role of mechanical stress on autophagy in physiological and disease processes and the signal transduction process related to autophagy induced by mechanical stress.

Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy

Scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) has emerged as a versatile tool for studies of interfaces in biology and materials science with notable utility in biophysical and electrochemical measurements. The heart of the SICM is a nanometer-scale electrolyte filled glass pipette that serves as a scanning probe. In the initial conception, manipulations of ion currents through the tip of the pipette and appropriate positioning hardware provided a route to recording micro- and nanoscopic mapping of the topography of surfaces. Subsequent advances in instrumentation, probe design, and methods significantly increased opportunities for SICM beyond recording topography. Hybridization of SICM with coincident characterization techniques such as optical microscopy and faradaic electrodes have brought SICM to the forefront as a tool for nanoscale chemical measurement for a wide range of applications. Modern approaches to SICM realize an important tool in analytical, bioanalytical, biophysical, and materials measurements, where significant opportunities remain for further exploration. In this review, we chronicle the development of SICM from the perspective of both the development of instrumentation and methods and the breadth of measurements performed.

Distinct calcium regulation of TRPM7 mechanosensitive channels at plasma membrane microdomains visualized by FRET-based single cell imaging

Transient receptor potential subfamily M member 7 (TRPM7), a mechanosensitive Ca²⁺ channel, plays a crucial role in intracellular Ca²⁺ homeostasis. However, it is currently unclear how cell mechanical cues control TRPM7 activity and its associated Ca²⁺ influx at plasma membrane microdomains. Using two different types of Ca²⁺ biosensors (Lyn-D3cpv and Kras-D3cpv) based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer, we investigate how Ca²⁺ influx generated by the TRPM7-specific agonist naltriben is mediated at the detergent-resistant membrane (DRM) and non-DRM regions. This study reveals that TRPM7-induced Ca²⁺ influx mainly occurs at the DRM, and chemically induced mechanical perturbations in the cell mechanosensitive apparatus substantially reduce Ca²⁺ influx through TRPM7, preferably located at the DRM. Such perturbations include the disintegration of lipid rafts, microtubules, or actomyosin filaments; the alteration of actomyosin contractility; and the inhibition of focal adhesion and Src kinases. These results suggest that the mechanical membrane environment contributes to the TRPM7 function and activity. Thus, this study provides a fundamental understanding of how the mechanical aspects of the cell membrane regulate the function of mechanosensitive channels.

Exploring the dermotoxicity of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol: combined morphologic and proteomic profiling of human epidermal cells reveals alteration of lipid biosynthesis machinery and membrane structural integrity relevant for skin barrier function

Deoxynivalenol (vomitoxin, DON) is a secondary metabolite produced by Fusarium spp. fungi and it is one of the most prevalent mycotoxins worldwide. Crop infestation results not only in food and feed contamination, but also in direct dermal exposure, especially during harvest and food processing. To investigate the potential dermotoxicity of DON, epidermoid squamous cell carcinoma cells A431 were compared to primary human neonatal keratinocytes (HEKn) cells via proteome/phosphoproteome profiling. In A431 cells, 10 µM DON significantly down-regulated ribosomal proteins, as well as mitochondrial respiratory chain elements (OXPHOS regulation) and transport proteins (TOMM22; TOMM40; TOMM70A). Mitochondrial impairment was reflected in altered metabolic competence, apparently combined with interference of the lipid biosynthesis machinery. Functional effects on the cell membrane were confirmed by live cell imaging and membrane fluidity assays (0.1–10 µM DON). Moreover, a common denominator for both A431 and HEKn cells was a significant downregulation of the squalene synthase (FDFT1). In sum, proteome alterations could be traced back to the transcription factor Klf4, a crucial regulator of skin barrier function. Overall, these results describe decisive molecular events sustaining the capability of DON to impair skin barrier function. Proteome data generated in the study are fully accessible via ProteomeXchange with the accession numbers PXD011474 and PXD013613.

In vivo Neural Crest Cell Migration Is Controlled by "Mixotaxis"

Directed cell migration is essential all along an individual's life, from embryogenesis to tissue repair and cancer metastasis. Thus, due to its biomedical relevance, directed cell migration is currently under intense research. Directed cell migration has been shown to be driven by an assortment of external biasing cues, ranging from gradients of soluble (chemotaxis) to bound (haptotaxis) molecules. In addition to molecular gradients, gradients of mechanical properties (duro/mechanotaxis), electric fields (electro/galvanotaxis) as well as iterative biases in the environment topology (ratchetaxis) have been shown to be able to direct cell migration. Since cells migrating in vivo are exposed to a challenging environment composed of a convolution of biochemical, biophysical, and topological cues, it is highly unlikely that cell migration would be guided by an individual type of "taxis." This is especially true since numerous molecular players involved in the cellular response to these biasing cues are often recycled, serving as sensor or transducer of both biochemical and biophysical signals. In this review, we confront literature on Xenopus cephalic neural crest cells with that of other cell types to discuss the relevance of the current categorization of cell guidance strategies. Furthermore, we emphasize that while studying individual biasing signals is informative, the hard truth is that cells migrate by performing a sort of "mixotaxis," where they integrate and coordinate multiple inputs through shared molecular effectors to ensure robustness of directed cell motion.

Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy Reveals Interaction of Some Microdomain-Associated Lipids with Cellular Focal Adhesion Sites

Cells adhere to the extracellular matrix at distinct anchoring points, mostly focal adhesions. These are rich in immobile transmembrane- and cytoskeletal-associated proteins, some of which are known to interact with lipids of the plasma membrane. To investigate their effect on lipid mobility and molecular interactions, fluorescently labeled lipids were incorporated into the plasma membranes of primary myofibroblasts using fusogenic liposomes. With fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, we tested mobilities of labeled microdomain-associated lipids such as sphingomyelin (SM), ganglioside (GM1), and cholesterol as well as of a microdomain-excluded phospholipid (PC) and a lipid-like molecule (DiIC₁₈(7)) in focal adhesions (FAs) and in neighboring non-adherent membrane areas. We found significantly slower diffusion of SM and GM1 inside FAs but no effect on cholesterol, PC, and DiIC₁₈(7). These data were compared to the molecular behavior in L_o/L_d-phase separated giant unilamellar vesicles, which served as a model system for microdomain containing lipid membranes. In contrast to the model system, lipid mobility changes in FAs were molecularly selective, and no particle enrichment occurred. Our findings suggest that lipid behavior in FAs cannot be described by L_o/L_d-phase separation. The observed slow-down of some molecules in FAs is potentially due to transient binding between lipids and some molecular constituent(s).

The interplay of membrane cholesterol and substrate on vascular smooth muscle biomechanics

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the primary cause of death worldwide. Specifically, atherosclerosis is a CVD characterized as a slow progressing chronic inflammatory disease. During atherosclerosis, vascular walls accumulate cholesterol and cause fatty streak formation. The progressive changes in vascular wall stiffness exert alternating mechanical cues on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). The detachment of VSMCs in the media layer of the vessel and migration toward the intima is a critical step in atherosclerosis. VSMC phenotypic switching is a complicated process that modifies VSMC structure and biomechanical function. These changes affect the expression and function of cell adhesion molecules, thus impacting VSMC migration. Accumulating evidence has shown cholesterol is capable of regulating cellular migration, proliferation, and spreading. However, the interaction and coordinated effects of both cellular cholesterol and the extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness/composition on VSMC biomechanics remains to be elucidated.

Mechanobiology of dynamic enzyme systems

This Perspective paper advances a hypothesis of mechanosensation by endothelial cells in which the cell is a dynamic crowded system, driven by continuous enzyme activity, that can be shifted from one non-equilibrium state to another by external force. The nature of the shift will depend on the direction, rate of change, and magnitude of the force. Whether force induces a pathophysiological or physiological change in cell biology will be determined by whether the dynamics of a cellular system can accommodate the dynamics and magnitude of the force application. The complex interplay of non-static cytoskeletal structures governs internal cellular rheology, dynamic spatial reorganization, and chemical kinetics of proteins such as integrins, and a flaccid membrane that is dynamically supported; each may constitute the necessary dynamic properties able to sense external fluid shear stress and reorganize in two and three dimensions. The resulting reorganization of enzyme systems in the cell membrane and cytoplasm may drive the cell to a new physiological state. This review focuses on endothelial cell mechanotransduction of shear stress, but may lead to new avenues of investigation of mechanobiology in general requiring new tools for interrogation of mechanobiological systems, tools that will enable the synthesis of large amounts of spatial and temporal data at the molecular, cellular, and system levels.

CLIC4 regulates late endosomal trafficking and matrix degradation activity of MMP14 at focal adhesions in RPE cells

Dysregulation in the extracellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment surrounding the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) has been implicated in the etiology of proliferative vitreoretinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. The regulation of ECM remodeling by RPE cells is not well understood. We show that membrane-type matrix metalloproteinase 14 (MMP14) is central to ECM degradation at the focal adhesions in human ARPE19 cells. The matrix degradative activity, but not the assembly, of the focal adhesion is regulated by chloride intracellular channel 4 (CLIC4). CLIC4 is co-localized with MMP14 in the late endosome. CLIC4 regulates the proper sorting of MMP14 into the lumen of the late endosome and its proteolytic activation in lipid rafts. CLIC4 has the newly-identified “late domain” motif that binds to MMP14 and to Tsg101, a component of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) complex. Unlike the late domain mutant CLIC4, wild-type CLIC4 can rescue the late endosomal sorting defect of MMP14. Finally, CLIC4 knockdown inhibits the apical secretion of MMP2 in polarized human RPE monolayers. These results, taken together, demonstrate that CLIC4 is a novel matrix microenvironment modulator and a novel regulator for late endosomal cargo sorting. Moreover, the late endosomal sorting of MMP14 actively regulates its surface activation in RPE cells.

β1-Integrin-Mediated Adhesion Is Lipid-Bilayer Dependent

Integrin-mediated adhesion is a central feature of cellular adhesion, locomotion, and endothelial cell mechanobiology. Although integrins are known to be transmembrane proteins, little is known about the role of membrane biophysics and dynamics in integrin adhesion. We treated human aortic endothelial cells with exogenous amphiphiles, shown previously in model membranes, and computationally, to affect bilayer thickness and lipid phase separation, and subsequently measured single-integrin-molecule adhesion kinetics using an optical trap, and diffusion using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Benzyl alcohol (BA) partitions to liquid-disordered (L_d) domains, thins them, and causes the greatest increase in hydrophobic mismatch between liquid-ordered (L_o) and L_d domains among the three amphiphiles, leading to domain separation. In human aortic endothelial cells, BA increased β₁-integrin-Arg-Gly-Asp-peptide affinity by 18% with a transition from single to double valency, consistent with a doubling of the molecular brightness of mCherry-tagged β₁-integrins measured using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Accordingly, BA caused an increase in the size of focal-adhesion-kinase/paxillin-positive peripheral adhesions and reduced migration speeds as measured using wound-healing assays. Vitamin E, which thickens L_o domains and disperses them by lowering edge energy on domain boundaries, left integrin affinity unchanged but reduced binding probability, leading to smaller focal adhesions and equivalent migration speed relative to untreated cells. Vitamin E reversed the BA-induced decrease in migration speed. Triton X-100 also thickens L_o domains, but partitions to both lipid phases and left unchanged binding kinetics, focal adhesion sizes, and migration speed. These results demonstrate that only the amphiphile that thinned L_d lipid domains increased β₁-integrin-Arg-Gly-Asp-peptide affinity and valency, thus implicating L_d domains in modulation of integrin adhesion, nascent adhesion formation, and cell migration.

Mechanotransduction of matrix stiffness in regulation of focal adhesion size and number: reciprocal regulation of caveolin-1 and β1 integrin

Focal adhesion (FA) assembly, mediated by integrin activation, responds to matrix stiffness; however, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, we showed that β1 integrin and caveolin-1 (Cav1) levels were decreased with declining matrix stiffness. Soft matrix selectively downregulated β1 integrin by endocytosis and subsequent lysosomal degradation. Disruption of lipid rafts with methyl-β-cyclodextrin or nystatin, or knockdown of Cav1 by siRNA decreased cell spreading, FA assembly, and β1 integrin protein levels in cells cultured on stiff matrix. Overexpression of Cav1, particularly the phospho-mimetic mutant Cav1-Y14D, averted soft matrix-induced decreases in β1 integrin protein levels, cell spreading, and FA assembly in NMuMG cells. Interestingly, overexpression of an auto-clustering β1 integrin hindered soft matrix-induced reduction of Cav1 and cell spreading, which suggests a reciprocal regulation between β1 integrin and Cav1. Finally, co-expression of this auto-clustering β1 integrin and Cav1-Y14D synergistically enhanced cell spreading, and FA assembly in HEK293T cells cultured on either stiff ( > G Pa) or soft (0.2 kPa) matrices. Collectively, these results suggest that matrix stiffness governs the expression of β1 integrin and Cav1, which reciprocally control each other, and subsequently determine FA assembly and turnover.

The Kinetics and the Permeation Properties of Piezo Channels

Piezo channels are eukaryotic, cation-selective mechanosensitive channels (MSCs), which show rapid activation and voltage-dependent inactivation. The kinetics of these channels are largely consistent across multiple cell types and different stimulation paradigms with some minor variability. No accessory subunits that associate with Piezo channels have been reported. They are homotrimers and each ∼300kD monomer has an N-terminal propeller blade-like mechanosensing module, which can confer mechanosensing capabilities on ASIC-1 (the trimeric non-MSC, acid-sensing ion channel-1) and a C-terminal pore module, which influences conductance, selectivity, and channel inactivation. Repeated stimulation can cause domain fracture and diffusion of these channels leading to synchronous loss of inactivation. The reconstituted channels spontaneously open only in asymmetric bilayers but lack inactivation. Mutations that cause hereditary xerocytosis alter PIEZO1 kinetics. The kinetics of the wild-type PIEZO1 and alterations thereof in mutants (M2225R, R2456K, and DhPIEZO1) are summarized in the form of a quantitative model and hosted online. The pore is permeable to alkali ions although Li⁺ permeates poorly. Divalent cations, notably Ca²⁺, traverse the channel and inhibit the flux of monovalents. The large monovalent organic cations such as tetramethyl ammonium and tetraethyl ammonium can traverse the channel, but slowly, suggesting a pore diameter of ∼8Å, and the estimated in-plane area change upon opening is around 6-20nm². Ruthenium red can enter the channel only from the extracellular side and seems to bind in a pocket close to residue 2496.

Free Volume in Membranes: Viscosity or Tension?

Many papers have used fluorescent probe diffusion to infer membrane viscosity but the measurement is actually an assay of the free volume of the membrane. The free volume is also related to the membrane tension. Thus, changes in probe mobility refer equally well to changes in membrane tension. In complicated structures like cell membranes, it appears more intuitive to consider variations in free volume as referring to the effect of domains structures and interactions with the cytoskeleton than changes in viscosity since tension is a state variable and viscosity is not.

Membrane cholesterol removal changes mechanical properties of cells and induces secretion of a specific pool of lysosomes

In a previous study we had shown that membrane cholesterol removal induced unregulated lysosomal exocytosis events leading to the depletion of lysosomes located at cell periphery. However, the mechanism by which cholesterol triggered these exocytic events had not been uncovered. In this study we investigated the importance of cholesterol in controlling mechanical properties of cells and its connection with lysosomal exocytosis. Tether extraction with optical tweezers and defocusing microscopy were used to assess cell dynamics in mouse fibroblasts. These assays showed that bending modulus and surface tension increased when cholesterol was extracted from fibroblasts plasma membrane upon incubation with MβCD, and that the membrane-cytoskeleton relaxation time increased at the beginning of MβCD treatment and decreased at the end. We also showed for the first time that the amplitude of membrane-cytoskeleton fluctuation decreased during cholesterol sequestration, showing that these cells become stiffer. These changes in membrane dynamics involved not only rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton, but also de novo actin polymerization and stress fiber formation through Rho activation. We found that these mechanical changes observed after cholesterol sequestration were involved in triggering lysosomal exocytosis. Exocytosis occurred even in the absence of the lysosomal calcium sensor synaptotagmin VII, and was associated with actin polymerization induced by MβCD. Notably, exocytosis triggered by cholesterol removal led to the secretion of a unique population of lysosomes, different from the pool mobilized by actin depolymerizing drugs such as Latrunculin-A. These data support the existence of at least two different pools of lysosomes with different exocytosis dynamics, one of which is directly mobilized for plasma membrane fusion after cholesterol removal.