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Updated: May 29, 2026

Analyzing Cell Surface Adhesion Remodeling in Response to Mechanical Tension Using Magnetic Beads
Published on: March 8, 2017
Comparing mechano-transduction in fibroblasts deficient of focal adhesion proteins
Tuli Dey1, Melanie C Mann, Wolfgang H Goldmann
1Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Abstract:
Mechano-transduction was studied in wildtype and focal adhesion (FA) protein-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Using a cell stretcher, we determined the effect of stretch on cell morphology, apoptosis, and phosphorylation of ERK(1/2). After 20% cyclic, uniaxial stretch, FA-deficient MEFs showed morphological changes and levels of apoptosis of the order: focal adhesion kinase>p130Cas>vinculin compared to wildtype cells. ERK(1/2) phosphorylation peaked in wildtype cells at around 10 min, and in all FA-deficient cells at around 5 min. The relative change in strain energy of FA-deficient cells compared to wildtype cells was of the order: vinculin>FAK>p130Cas. Taken together, FAK and p130Cas are more important in the stretch-mediated downstream signaling and cell survival pathway, while vinculin is more critical in maintaining cell contractility.
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