Cross-coupling of ordering parameters in multiferroic materials by multiple external stimuli other than electric field and magnetic field is highly desirable from both practical application and fundamental study points of view. Recently, mechanical force has attracted great attention in switching of ferroic ordering parameters via electro-elastic coupling in ferroelectric materials. In this wor...

Contraction-induced injury occurs when muscles are stretched while activated (lengthening contractions). The injury is initiated by mechanical damage followed by an inflammatory response. Old animals are particularly susceptible to contraction-induced injury, yet exposure to stretches without activation (passive stretches) before lengthening contractions lessens the injury. We hypothesized that...

Mechanical forces are important signals for cell response and development, but detailed molecular mechanisms of force sensing are largely unexplored. The cytoskeletal protein filamin is a key connecting element between the cytoskeleton and transmembrane complexes such as integrins or the von Willebrand receptor glycoprotein Ib. Here, we show using single-molecule mechanical measurements that th...

AAA(+) unfoldases denature and translocate polypeptides into associated peptidases. We report direct observations of mechanical, force-induced protein unfolding by the ClpX unfoldase from E. coli, alone, and in complex with the ClpP peptidase. ClpX hydrolyzes ATP to generate mechanical force and translocate polypeptides through its central pore. Threading is interrupted by pauses that are found...

OBJECTIVE Translation of the contact zone in articulating joints is an important component of joint kinematics, yet rarely investigated in a biological context. This study was designed to investigate how sliding contact areas affect cartilage mechanobiology. We hypothesized that higher sliding speeds would lead to increased extracellular matrix mechanical stress and the expression of catabolic ...

Branched actin networks--created by the Arp2/3 complex, capping protein, and a nucleation promoting factor--generate and transmit forces required for many cellular processes, but their response to force is poorly understood. To address this, we assembled branched actin networks in vitro from purified components and used simultaneous fluorescence and atomic force microscopy to quantify their mol...

Mechanical force modulates a wide array of cell physiological processes. Cells sense and respond to mechanical stimuli using a hierarchy of structural complexes spanning multiple length scales, including force-sensitive molecules and cytoskeletal networks. Understanding mechanotransduction, i.e., the process by which cells convert mechanical inputs into biochemical signals, has required the dev...

Sculpting organism shape requires that cells produce forces with proper directionality. Thus, it is critical to understand how cells orient the cytoskeleton to produce forces that deform tissues. During Drosophila gastrulation, actomyosin contraction in ventral cells generates a long, narrow epithelial furrow, termed the ventral furrow, in which actomyosin fibres and tension are directed along ...

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has recently provided the great progress in the study of micro- and nanostructures including living cells and cell organelles. Modern AFM techniques allow solving a number of problems of cell biomechanics due to simultaneous evaluation of the local mechanical properties and the topography of the living cells at a high spatial resolution and force sensitivity. Parti...

Living tissues undergo deformation during morphogenesis. In this process, cells generate mechanical forces that drive the coordinated cell motion and shape changes. Recent advances in experimental and theoretical techniques have enabled in situ measurement of the mechanical forces, but the characterization of mechanical properties that determine how these forces quantitatively affect tissue def...