Mechanical Forces in Cellular Signaling: From Mechanosensing to Disease

Mechanobiology investigates how cells sense, integrate and respond to mechanical forces within their microenvironment. Mechanical cues generated by the extracellular matrix, neighbouring cells, fluid flow and cytoskeletal activity regulate signalling, adhesion, migration, differentiation and tissue organisation. Recent advances have established that force transmission through integrins, cadherins, the actomyosin cytoskeleton and the nucleus can activate biochemical and transcriptional responses, while mechanosensitive ion channels and force-dependent protein conformations provide additional routes for cellular adaptation. However, important questions remain concerning how mechanical information is converted into context-dependent signalling outputs, how cells coordinate local and long-range force responses, and how dysregulated mechanobiology contributes to disease. Current research is addressing these challenges through quantitative imaging, molecular tension sensors, high-resolution force measurements, engineered extracellular matrices, organoid models and computational approaches. Nevertheless, the field still lacks an integrated understanding of how mechanical and chemical signals are combined across scales and how these processes differ between physiological, developmental and pathological settings.This Research Topic aims to advance understanding of how mechanical forces regulate cellular signalling, adhesion and migration. It will bring together studies examining the molecular mechanisms that enable cells to detect, transmit and respond to force, as well as research exploring how mechanochemical feedback controls cell behaviour in tissues and disease. The Topic will particularly encourage interdisciplinary contributions that connect molecular force sensing with cytoskeletal dynamics, cell–cell and cell–matrix adhesion, signal transduction, gene regulation and tissue-level organisation. It will also consider how altered mechanical environments influence development, regeneration, cancer progression, inflammation and other pathological processes.To gather further insights into force-dependent signalling mechanisms in cellular adhesion and migration, this Research Topic will cover studies spanning molecular, cellular, tissue and in vivo systems, while prioritising mechanistic links between mechanical inputs and biological outcomes. We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:Mechanosensing through integrins, cadherins, focal adhesions and cell–cell junctionsForce-dependent regulation of cytoskeletal organisation and dynamicsMechanosensitive ion channels and mechanically activated signalling pathwaysMolecular tension sensors, force probes and quantitative biophysical approachesCrosstalk between mechanical and biochemical signalling networksExtracellular matrix stiffness, composition, viscoelasticity and remodellingRegulation of cell migration, collective migration and invasion by mechanical cuesNuclear mechanotransduction, chromatin organisation and mechanosensitive gene expressionMechanical regulation of developmental processes, tissue morphogenesis and regenerationMechanobiology of cancer, inflammation, fibrosis and vascular diseaseCell adhesion and force signalling in three-dimensional, organoid and in vivo modelsComputational and theoretical approaches to mechanochemical feedbackEmerging technologies for measuring and manipulating forces in living cells and tissues Topic editors: Robert Jiun Ju, Emily R. Moore Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85400/mechanical-forces-in-cellular-signaling-from-mechanosensing-to-disease