... the impact of a functional actin cap on the cellular adaptive response to topographical cues and uniaxial cyclic strain. Lmna -deficient fibroblasts are used as a model system because they do not develop an intact actin cap, but predominantly form a basal layer of actin stress fibers underneath the nucleus...

... and smooth muscle cells (SMCs). The microenvironment of vascular cells not only contains biochemical factors that influence differentiation, but also exerts hemodynamic forces, such as shear stress and cyclic strain. Recent evidence has shown that these forces can influence the differentiation of MSCs...

... in fibronectin-depleted medium deposited their own fibronectin matrix. In cultures exposed to cyclic strain, RhoA was activated, actin-stress fibers became more prominent, MAL/MKL1 shuttled to the nucleus, and mRNA encoding tenascin-C was induced. By contrast, these RhoA-dependent responses to cyclic strain were...