QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content

Tensegrity and systems biology

Tensegrity is an architectural approach in which structures are stabilized by continuous tension. Don Ingber put forward the idea that cells use a form of tensegrity some 20 years ago, proposing that microfilaments and intermediate filaments bear tensional forces, which are balanced by microtubules and focal adhesions. Since then, evidence for the cellular tensegrity model has accumulated, and mathematical formulations of it now accurately predict various aspects of cell behaviour. On p. 1157, in Part I of a two-part Commentary, Ingber revisits tensegrity. A fundamental feature of the cellular tensegrity model is the cytoskeletal `prestress'. Traction force microscopy and magnetic twisting cytometry have recently revealed that this correlates with cell stiffness — as predicted by the tensegrity model. Meanwhile, the mathematical formulations have predicted stiffness values similar to those measured in adherent cells. The cellular tensegrity model can also accommodate multimodularity, allowing repair or replacement of structural modules without disruption of higher-order organization. The theory could thus provide a structural basis for the concept that living organisms are constructed as `systems within systems within systems'.

Related articles in JCS:

Tensegrity I. Cell structure and hierarchical systems biology

Donald E. Ingber
JCS 2003 116: 1157-1173. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Demczuk, N. Guha, P. H. Nguyen, P. Desai, J. Chang, K. Guzinska, J. Rollins, C. C. Ghosh, L. Goodwin, and A. Vancura Saccharomyces cerevisiae Phospholipase C Regulates Transcription of Msn2p-Dependent Stress-Responsive Genes Eukaryot. Cell, June 1, 2008; 7(6): 967 - 979. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. E. Zeller, S. C. Parnell, and H. G. Dohlman The RACK1 Ortholog Asc1 Functions as a G-protein beta Subunit Coupled to Glucose Responsiveness in Yeast J. Biol. Chem., August 24, 2007; 282(34): 25168 - 25176. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Niranjan, X. Guo, J. Victor, A. Lu, and J. P. Hirsch Kelch Repeat Protein Interacts with the Yeast G{alpha} Subunit Gpa2p at a Site That Couples Receptor Binding to Guanine Nucleotide Exchange J. Biol. Chem., August 17, 2007; 282(33): 24231 - 24238. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. M. Dranginis, J. M. Rauceo, J. E. Coronado, and P. N. Lipke A Biochemical Guide to Yeast Adhesins: Glycoproteins for Social and Antisocial Occasions Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev., June 1, 2007; 71(2): 282 - 294. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Biswas, P. Van Dijck, and A. Datta Environmental Sensing and Signal Transduction Pathways Regulating Morphopathogenic Determinants of Candida albicans Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev., June 1, 2007; 71(2): 348 - 376. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. S. Hoffman Propping Up Our Knowledge of G Protein Signaling Pathways: Diverse Functions of Putative Noncanonical Gbeta Subunits in Fungi Sci. Signal., January 23, 2007; 2007(370): pe3 - pe3. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. A. Palmer, J. K. Thompson, L. Li, A. Prat, and P. Wang Gib2, A Novel Gbeta-like/RACK1 Homolog, Functions as a Gbeta Subunit in cAMP Signaling and Is Essential in Cryptococcus neoformans J. Biol. Chem., October 27, 2006; 281(43): 32596 - 32605. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Peeters, W. Louwet, R. Gelade, D. Nauwelaers, J. M. Thevelein, and M. Versele Kelch-repeat proteins interacting with the G{alpha} protein Gpa2 bypass adenylate cyclase for direct regulation of protein kinase A in yeast PNAS, August 29, 2006; 103(35): 13034 - 13039. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Li and K. A. Borkovich GPR-4 Is a Predicted G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Required for Carbon Source-Dependent Asexual Growth and Development in Neurospora crassa. Eukaryot. Cell, August 1, 2006; 5(8): 1287 - 1300. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. S. Kao, E. Morreale, L. Wang, F. D. Ivey, and C. S. Hoffman Schizosaccharomyces pombe Git1 Is a C2-Domain Protein Required for Glucose Activation of Adenylate Cyclase Genetics, May 1, 2006; 173(1): 49 - 61. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. A. Chasse, P. Flanary, S. C. Parnell, N. Hao, J. Y. Cha, D. P. Siderovski, and H. G. Dohlman Genome-Scale Analysis Reveals Sst2 as the Principal Regulator of Mating Pheromone Signaling in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae Eukaryot. Cell, February 1, 2006; 5(2): 330 - 346. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y.-L. Wu, S. B. Hooks, T. K. Harden, and H. G. Dohlman Dominant-negative Inhibition of Pheromone Receptor Signaling by a Single Point Mutation in the G Protein {alpha} Subunit J. Biol. Chem., August 20, 2004; 279(34): 35287 - 35297. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Gettemans, K. Meerschaert, J. Vandekerckhove, and V. De Corte A Kelch {beta} Propeller Featuring as a G{beta} Structural Mimic: Reinventing the Wheel? Sci. Signal., July 15, 2003; 2003(191): pe27 - pe27. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content