Mechanical forces play an essential role in cellular processes as input, output, and signals. Various protein complexes in the cell are designed to handle, transform and use such forces. For instance, proteins of muscle and the extracellular matrix can withstand considerable stretching forces, hearing-related and mechanosensory proteins can transform weak mechanical stimuli into electrical sign...

Normal mammalian cells in culture have a limited life span and will eventually maintain a growth arrested state, referred to as replicative senescence. Usually induced by telomere shortening this form of arrest is irreversible in the sense that cells cannot be triggered to reenter proliferation by physiological mitotic stimuli like growth factors. Senescence may also occur prematurely in respon...

Wound healing is a natural response to restore the injured tissue to normal. Wound healing is also complicated process involving different cellular, molecular and biochemical mechanisms and various types of cytokines and growth factors. Calcium channel blockers belong to cardiovascular medicine and administrated to treatment of hypertension, angina and cardiac arrhythmia because of vasodilatory...

Mechanical forces direct a host of cellular and tissue processes. Although much emphasis has been placed on cell-adhesion complexes as force sensors, the forces must nevertheless be transmitted through the cortical cytoskeleton. Yet how the actin cortex senses and transmits forces and how cytoskeletal proteins interact in response to the forces is poorly understood. Here, by combining molecular...

Synaptic plasticity in the central nervous system (CNS) of mammals has been discussed for many years. Several forms of synaptic plasticity of mammal’s CNS have been identified, such as those that occur in long-term potentiation (LTP). Different types of LTP have been observed in distinctive areas of the CNS of mammals. The hippocampus is one of the most important areas in the CNS that pla...