Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 20, 2026

A Fluorescent Intravital Imaging Approach to Study Load-Induced Calcium Signaling Dynamics in Mouse Osteocytes
Published on: February 24, 2023
Signal transduction pathways involved in mechanotransduction in bone cells
Astrid Liedert1, Daniela Kaspar, Robert Blakytny
1Institute of Orthopedic Research and Biomechanics, University of Ulm, Germany. astrid.liedert@uni-ulm.de
Abstract:
Several in vivo and in vitro studies with different loading regimens showed that mechanical stimuli have an influence on proliferation and differentiation of bone cells. Prerequisite for this influence is the transduction of mechanical signals into the cell, a phenomenon that is termed mechanotransduction, which is essential for the maintenance of skeletal homeostasis in adults. Mechanoreceptors, such as the integrins, cadherins, and stretch-activated Ca2+ channels, together with various signal transduction pathways, are involved in the mechanotransduction process that ultimately regulates gene expression in the nucleus. Mechanotransduction itself is considered to be regulated by hormones, the extracellular matrix of the osteoblastic cells and the mode of the mechanical stimulus.
Related Concept Videos
Amplifying Signals via Second Messengers
Tension Response at Adherens Junctions
α-Catenin as a Mechanosensory Protein
The α-catenin of adherens junctions is an allosteric protein with three VH (vinculin homology) domains...
Signal Transduction: Overview
Typically, signal transduction involves three...
Mechanically-gated Ion Channels
Mechanically-gated Ion Channels
What are Second Messengers?
