Cellular mechanotransduction: use of RNA interference technique to study focal adhesion proteins

L. GASTALDI; M. BIANCHI; C. VON BILDERLING; L. SIGAUT; L. I. PIETRASANTA

Carlos Paz, Córdoba.

Congreso; Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Biofísica; 2013

Sociedad Argentina de Biofísica

Cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix involves multiple components that are dynamically interacting with each other (focal adhesions, FA). Cells sense the extracellular environment using adhesion receptors (integrins) linked to the intracellular actin cytoskeleton through a large repertoire of mechanosensitive and signaling components in their cytoplasmic scaffold, including cytoskeletal and adaptor proteins1 (such as actin, vinculin, paxillin, zyxin, Talin, a-actinin) and enzymes (such us focal-adhesion kinase). The presence of a mechanical stimulus, activates signal transduction pathways involving the adhesion components, which results in cascading events. These ultimately affect protein-protein interactions allowing self-assembly and/or remodeling of the adhesion unit2. We used an RNA interference technique to knockdown individual FA proteins to study the effect on composition, dynamic and molecular interactions of the whole set of adhesion proteins within FA of a living cell. This approach, combined with mechanical stretching3 of the cells cultured on silicone elastic membranes, help us to dilucidate new interactions involved in the mechanotransduction process.