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. 2021 Jun 11;6(3):e10233. doi: 10.1002/btm2.10233

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© 2021 The Authors. Bioengineering & Translational Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Microtubule depolymerizing agents (MDAs) augment ultrasound‐mediated tumor cell apoptosis. Ultrasound‐mediated mechanical forces initiate calcium entry through Piezo1 channels. Calcium‐activated calpain triggers mitochondria‐dependent apoptotic pathway. Also, calpain disrupts microtubules to enhance myosin IIA contractility through RhoA pathway activation. Cell contractility promotes Piezo1 localization to cell periphery and their activation to continue the feedback loop. In addition, MDAs by disrupting the microtubule network further potentiate tumor cell mechanoptosis