Living cells are constantly exposed to a wide variety of mechanical stresses: heart and lungs must withstand expansion and contraction; our skin must be resistant to tearing whilst retaining ...

Just as the skeleton and muscles move the human body and hold its shape, the cells of the body are stabilized and moved by a cellular skeleton. This cellular skeleton is a dynamic structure, ...

The cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells contains an elaborate filamentous protein meshwork — the cytoskeleton — which comprises three distinct but integrated fibrous polymers: filamentous actin (F-actin; ...

Structures called desmosomes connect cells to each other and transfer mechanical stress. They are especially important in tissues under continual mechanical stress, such as heart muscle (pictured).

Changes to the intermediate filament (IF) protein, vimentin, were found to promote tumor growth by increasing cancer stemness in an estrogen independent manner. Targeting vimentin and/or the long ...

We previously demonstrated that truncated desmoplakin I (DP I) molecules containing the carboxyl terminus specifically coalign with and disrupt both keratin and vimentin intermediate filament (IF) ...

The cytoskeleton is far more than a static scaffold—it’s a dynamic, adaptable network that shapes cells, moves cargo, and drives vital processes. From swirling cytoplasmic flows to microtubule ...

Cells constantly probe their environments, searching for physical cues that guide their behavior. And yet a cell's response ...

Scientists at Feinberg are reshaping scientific understanding of the cell's tiniest components—structures once thought to be static, now revealed to be dynamic engines of cellular life. As they probe ...

The cells that make up our bodies are constantly exposed to a wide variety of mechanical stresses. For example, the heart and lungs have to withstand lifelong expansion and contraction, our skin has ...

How does skin hold you in? How do heart cells beat together? Researchers at the University of California, Davis, Department of Biomedical Engineering, are exploring how structures called desmosomes, ...