机械力及力学信号转导影响干细胞命运的研究进展

Roles of Mechanical Force and Mechanotransduction in Fate of Stem Cells

干细胞作为一种未分化的祖细胞,目前已被广泛应用于开展组织损伤修复、再生以及干细胞特异谱系分化的研究.大量研究表明,干细胞所处的微环境对调控干细胞的生长和分化具有重要作用,多种溶液介质、细胞外基质和信号通路等参与了干细胞命运的调控.尽管已有大量研究证明,溶液介质(如激素和生长因子)在干细胞的生长和分化中发挥重要作用,但近年来越来越多的研究表明,机械力及力学信号转导同样在干细胞自我更新、分化、衰老和凋亡等细胞生理过程中起到重要的作用.本文将对机械应力响应的细胞基础、生物力学及力学信号调控干细胞自我更新和分化,以及生物力学调控干细胞命运可能的作用机制几个方面加以综述.

Stem cells are undifferentiated progenitor cells that are accepted as a source of seed cells for therapeutic applications in tissue regeneration and as a model to investigate the lineage-specific differentiation of stem cells. Outstanding research in recent years has shed light on the role of micro-environment of stem cells in the proliferation and differentiation. Although studies have indicated that soluble mediators such as cytokines and growth factors play a significant role in proliferation and differentiation of stem cells, a critical role for mechanical force and mechanotransduction in controlling self-renewal, differentiation, aging and apoptosis of stem cells has also been revealed. In this review, we summarize and discuss the mechanisms of cells＇ response to mechanical stimuli, the biomechanical force as a regulator for stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, and the putative mechanisms of mechanotransduction.