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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Dec 1.
Published in final edited form as: Phys Life Rev. 2017 Jun 21;22-23:88–119. doi: 10.1016/j.plrev.2017.06.016

Figure 6. Cellular mechanosensing in response to matrix rigidity: nucleus lamin-A dynamics.

Figure 6

(A) Lamin-A concentration increases with increasing matrix stiffness [11]. (B) The levels of collagen-1 and cardiac myosin increase first and then reach a maximum value during the development of embryonic chick hearts [170]. (C) Lamin-A is found more in the basal than the apical nuclear envelope of fibroblasts adhering to stiff (but not soft) polyacrylamide hydrogels [206]. (D) Schematic of the gene circuit model predicting how matrix rigidity regulates levels of nuclear lamin-A. Stiffer matrices enhance cellular contraction and increase the tension in nuclear lamin layer, thereby decreasing the lamin-A degradation rate. Tension acting on the nucleus by stress fibers can also influence transcription factors associated with nucleoplasm shuttling, which can further regulate lamin-A expression.