Local Force on Cell Cytoskeletons Causes Binding of Focal Contact Proteins Dependent Upon Tyrosine Phosphatase/Kinases

Cellular responses to mechanical force are critical for the shaping of cells and for many physiological functions that need to be satisfied in functionally engineered tissues. From several recent observations, there is the suggestion that physical force developed by a cell or its environment can signal to the cell through oncogenic tyrosine kinase/phosphatase pathways and alter the program of the cell. These responses occur in seconds and lead to the localization of focal contact proteins at the sites of maximum force on the cytoskeleton. We suggest that forces directly applied to cytoskeleton proteins cause the activation of the cellular responses.