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Updated: Oct 30, 2025

Combining 3D Magnetic Force Actuator and Multi-Functional Fluorescence Imaging to Study Nucleus Mechanobiology
Published on: July 5, 2022
Components and Mechanisms of Nuclear Mechanotransduction
1Cell Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA;
Abstract:
The cell nucleus is best known as the container of the genome. Its envelope provides a barrier for passive macromolecule diffusion, which enhances the control of gene expression. As its largest and stiffest organelle, the nucleus also defines the minimal space requirements of a cell. Internal or external pressures that deform a cell to its physical limits cause a corresponding nuclear deformation. Evidence is consolidating that the nucleus, in addition to its genetic functions, serves as a physical sensing device for critical cell body deformation. Nuclear mechanotransduction allows cells to adapt their acute behaviors, mechanical stability, paracrine signaling, and fate to their physical surroundings. This review summarizes the basic chemical and mechanical properties of nuclear components, and how these properties are thought to be utilized for mechanosensing.
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