Cell measures stiffness of its environment using special protein bonds
Thursday, September 12, 2013 - 06:00
in Biology & Nature
Researchers from the FOM Foundation and Eindhoven University of Technology have discovered how a cell feels whether its environment is stiff or soft. It is becoming increasingly evident that such pure physical information – besides the chemical information – can be a decisive factor for the health of stem cells, for example. However up until now how a cell obtained this information was not clear. FOM PhD researcher Liza Novikova demonstrated with calculations and simulations that special protein compounds play a key role in this. Her work will be published on 17 September as a New & Notable article in Biophysical Journal, accompanied by a supporting article from a fellow expert.