In 2012 August 11 (12:23 UTC) a moderate earthquake with MW=6.4 (USGS) occurred between Ahar and Varzaghan towns in Azarbayjan Province at northwest of Iran. After eleven minutes another earthquake shook the area with MW=6.2 (USGS). These consecutive earthquakes followed by intensive sequences of aftershocks whereas the strongest one had MW=5.3 (USGS). In data processing including depth modific...

Mechanosensing at focal adhesions regulates vital cellular processes. Here, we present results from molecular dynamics (MD) and mechano-biochemical network simulations that suggest a direct role of Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) as a mechano-sensor. Tensile forces, propagating from the membrane through the PIP2 binding site of the FERM domain and from the cytoskeleton-anchored FAT domain, activate...

1Department of Internal Medicine IV (Nephrology and Hypertension), Medical University Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria 2Pediatric Nephrology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany 3Department of Microbiology and Immunology, KU Leuven and Department of Nephrology, UZ Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium 4Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Severance Childr...

Focal adhesions (FA) are large, multiprotein complexes that provide a mechanical link between the cytoskeletal contractile machinery and the extracellular matrix. FA exhibit mechanosensitive properties; they self-assemble and elongate upon application of pulling forces and dissociate when these forces are decreased. We propose a thermodynamic model for the mechanosensitivity of FA, according to...