Figure 1.

Mechanotransduction of growing skin. Transmembrane mechanosensors in the form of stretch-activated ion channels, integrins, growth factor receptors, and G-protein-coupled receptors translate extracellular signals into intracellular events, which activate a cascade of interconnected signaling pathways. Biomechanical and biochemical signals converge in the activation of transcription factors, activating gene expression. Mechanotransduction triggers increased mitotic activity and increased collagen synthesis, resulting in an increase in skin surface area to restore the homeostatic equilibrium state [31, 69].