Mechanoaccumulative Elements of the Mammalian Actin Cytoskeleton

Mechanoresponse, the ability of cells to sense and respond to mechanical stimuli, drives essential processes such as cell division, tissue morphogenesis, cell migration, and metastasis. However, the direct mechanism by which the components of the cortical cytoskeleton assemble and interact to exert force on the membrane in response to mechanical perturbations remains unclear. To determine the elements of the actin-cytoskeleton that sense and respond to applied stress, we perturbed cells by aspiration and defined the kinetics of fluorescent-protein accumulation to cell regions with unique strain environments.