Workgroup “Cell Adhesion and Mechanobiology”

Andrew Clark
andrew.clark@srcsb.uni-stuttgart.de

Ada Cavalcanti-Adam
elisabetta.cavalcanti-adam@uni-bayreuth.de

Summary

Cell and tissue function is heavily influenced by the local microenvironment. Cells interact with their local surroundings via transmembrane receptors and associated protein complexes, together called cell adhesions. Adhesion complexes allow cells to sense the biochemical and mechanical features of their environment and include adhesions between neighboring cells and between cells and extracellular matrix networks. Changes in these properties can modulate cellular function via various signal transduction pathways, including the activation of mechanosensing pathways by mechanical stress. At the same time, mechanical forces actively generated by cells can be transmitted and used to modify the local microenvironment due to mechanical coupling of cells and their substrate by cell adhesions. In this workgroup, we focus on the two-way relationship between cells and their microenvironment, with an emphasis on mechanobiological interactions across scales and biological contexts.