Mechanotransduction in intervertebral discs

Tsung Ting Tsai, Chao Min Cheng*, Chien Fu Chen, Po Liang Lai

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mechanotransduction plays a critical role in intracellular functioning-it allows cells to translate external physical forces into internal biochemical activities, thereby affecting processes ranging from proliferation and apoptosis to gene expression and protein synthesis in a complex web of interactions and reactions. Accordingly, aberrant mechanotransduction can either lead to, or be a result of, a variety of diseases or degenerative states. In this review, we provide an overview of mechanotransduction in the context of intervertebral discs, with a focus on the latest methods of investigating mechanotransduction and the most recent findings regarding the means and effects of mechanotransduction in healthy and degenerative discs. We also provide some discussion of potential directions for future research and treatments.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2351-2360
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Volume18
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - 01 12 2014

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 The Authors.

Keywords

  • Biochemical activities
  • Gene expression
  • Intervertebral discs
  • Mechanotransduction
  • Physical forces
  • Protein synthesis

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