Mechanotransduction and inflammation: an updated comprehensive representation

Abstract

Mechanotransduction is the process that enables the conversion of mechanical cues into biochemical signaling. While all our cells are well known to be sensitive to such stimuli, the details of the systemic interaction between mechanical input and inflammation are not always well integrated. Often, they are considered and studied in relatively compartmentalized areas, and we therefore argue here that to understand the relationship of mechanical stimuli with inflammation – with high translational potential - it is crucial to offer and analyze a unified view of mechanotransduction. We therefore offer here a pathway representation, recollected with the standard systems biology markup language (SBML) and explored with network biology approaches. We present RAC1 as an exemplar and emerging molecule with potential for medical translation.