Dr. Sylvain Gabriele "From soft matter to biophysics: how cell mechanics control cell functions?"

One of the most fundamental problems in cell biology concerns how cells convert mechanical stimuli into biochemical reponses. This phenomenon, termed mechanotransduction, is an integral part of cellular physiology and has a profound impact on the development of the organism. Furthermore, malfunctioning mechanical properties or mechanotransduction often leads to pathology of the organism. In this seminar, I will describe how experimental tools (microfluidics, micropatterning, soft hydrogels, etc.) and theoretical concepts (elasticity, viscosity, tensegrity, etc.) coming from soft condensed matter physics can be joinly transposed to the study of cellular mechanotransduction. Research in cellular mechanotransduction often focuses on how extracellular physical forces exerted at the cell surface are converted into biochemical signals through the activation of signaling pathways. However, mechanical forces applied on surface-adhesion receptors are also channelled along cytoskeletal filaments and concentrated at distant sites in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. Based on different experimental approaches, I will discuss two different mechanotransduction cases through the mechanisms by which (i) non-penetrating blast waves damage the brain and (ii) endothelial cells regulate nuclear shapes and functions in response to cell shape changes.