Use the force: membrane tension as an organizer of cell shape and motility

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Use the force: membrane tension as an organizer of cell shape and motility

Trends in Cell Biology, Volume 23, Issue 2, Pages 47-53, Publication Date 05 November 2012
Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2012.09.006

Alba Diz-Muñoz

Daniel A. Fletcher

Orion D. Weiner

Bioengineering Department and Biophysics Program, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

Cardiovascular Research Institute and Department of Biochemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA

Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

Many cell phenomena that involve shape changes are affected by the intrinsic deformability of the plasma membrane (PM). Far from being a passive participant, the PM is now known to physically, as well as biochemically, influence cell processes ranging from vesicle trafficking to actin assembly. Here we review current understanding of how changes in PM tension regulate cell shape and movement, as well as how cells sense PM tension.

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