Mechanobiology of the cell membrane

In this chapter, we introduce the main concepts in membrane mechanics through an exploration of the relationship between mechanics and protein activation. Proteins can be activated by bringing them together, or by changing their conformation. So the question arises, “Can forces on membranes cause changes in the transport of membrane components, such as proteins and lipids, and can forces cause changes in integral membrane protein conformation that are equivalent to those caused by ligand binding, a process well known to initiate biochemical signaling?” The answers to these questions have significant implications in the field of mechanobiology because many of the important proteins that transduce external cellular signals to intracellular changes in signaling pathways and genetic expression reside in the plasma membrane.