Epigenetic regulation and mechanobiology

Abstract

Mechanical force regulates a variety of cellular functions through inducing modulations in nuclear chromatin structures and epigenetic landscapes (outside in). The epigenetic modifications, in turn, regulate gene expressions and affect phenotypic outcomes, including cytoskeletal organization and cell-cell/cell-ECM interactions (inside out). While there have been significant advances in the understanding of mechanotransduction in the nucleus, there is still a lack of knowledge on the potential mechanisms through which mechanical cues affect epigenetic and chromatin regulations to determine genetic outcomes. This review firstly focuses on the current understanding of epigenetic regulations and then summarizes how mechanotransduction and epigenetic modification couple together to regulate molecular and cellular functions, eventually causing functional phenotype changes e.g., diseases. Lastly, we introduce related technologies for mechanistic studies, particularly fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) biosensors for the visualization of dynamic epigenetic regulations in single living cells, as well as the applications of FRET biosensors to visualize mechanotransduction events occurring in the nucleus. These studies could provide new insights into epigenetics in regulating the physiological and pathological processes in living cells under different mechanical environments.