Figure 2.

The biophysical sensors of mechanical stress in cardiomyocytes and the intracellular mechanisms. The integrins are considered as the most major biophysical sensors located in cellular membrane of cardiomyocytes. While the desmosome, gap junction, and tight junction also contribute to maintain a cell–cell junction with a physical mechanical contact. Filamentous actin connects all the molecules with mitochondria, sarcomere, and nuclear membrane, especially lamin A/C. The acto–myosin action and myosin II structure make the dominant unit for actin movement. Once the mechanical stress loaded on cell surface, the integrin would phosphorylate FAK and downstream molecules, which force the myosin protein to move along acto–myosin actin, and then change the shapes of mitochondria, sarcomere, and nuclear membrane, regulating related genes expression and mitochondrial function.