Mechanosensitive Ion Channels

Foreword I.- Foreword II.- Editorial Mechanically gated channels and mechanosensitive channels.- Part I. Mechanosensitive Channels.- Experimental methods of studying of mechanosensitive channels and possible errors in data interpretation.- The role of lipid bilayer mechanics in mechanosensation.- Mechanosensitive channels gated by membrane tension: bacteria and beyond.- Computational approaches in studies of bacterial mechanosensitive channels.- Mechanosensory transduction in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.- Mechanosensitive ion channels in odontoblasts.- Potassium ion channels in articular chondrocytes: putative roles in mechanotransduction, metabolic regulation and cell proliferation.- Osmotransduction through volume-sensitive Cl - channels.- Mechanosensitive channel TRPV4. A micro-machine converting physical force into an ion flow. Part II Mechanosensitive Signaling Cascades.- Mechanosensitive purinergic calcium signalling in articular chondrocytes.- Signal transduction pathways involved in mechanotransduction in osteoblastic and mesenchymal stem cells.- Caveolae: Co-ordinating centres for mechanotransduction in the heart?- Multimodal activation and regulation of neuronal mechanosensitive cation channels.- Rregulation of intracellular signal transduction pathways by mechanosensitive ion channels. Part III. Cell Mechanobiology.- The effects of mechanical stimulation on vertebrate hearts: a question of class.- Mechanobiology of fibroblasts