The Interplay between Chemistry and Mechanics in the Transduction of a Mechanical Signal into a Biochemical Function

TL;DR

This paper reviews how mechanical forces in biological systems are transduced into biochemical signals, emphasizing the complex interplay between chemistry and mechanics revealed by single molecule methodologies.

Contribution

It provides an overview of the mechanisms controlling mechanical-to-biochemical signal conversion, highlighting the role of chemistry in mechanical transduction processes.

Findings

Single molecule methods reveal chemistry-mechanics interactions.

Chemistry influences mechanical signal transduction.

Mechanical forces can trigger biochemical functions.

Abstract

There are many processes in biology in which mechanical forces are generated. Force-bearing networks can transduce locally developed mechanical signals very extensively over different parts of the cell or tissues. In this article we conduct an overview of this kind of mechanical transduction, focusing in particular on the multiple layers of complexity displayed by the mechanisms that control and trigger the conversion of a mechanical signal into a biochemical function. Single molecule methodologies, through their capability to introduce the force in studies of biological processes in which mechanical stresses are developed, are unveiling subtle intertwining mechanisms between chemistry and mechanics and in particular are revealing how chemistry can control mechanics. The possibility that chemistry interplays with mechanics should be always considered in biochemical studies.