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Concept
Cell mechanics
Summary
Cell mechanics is a sub-field of biophysics that focuses on the mechanical properties and behavior of living cells and how it relates to cell function. It encompasses aspects of cell biophysics, biomechanics, soft matter physics and rheology, mechanobiology and cell biology.
Eukaryotic cells are cells that consist of membrane-bound organelles, a membrane-bound nucleus, and more than one linear chromosome. Being much more complex than prokaryotic cells, cells without a true nucleus, eukaryotes must protect its organelles from outside forces.
Plant cell mechanics combines principles of biomechanics and mechanobiology to investigate the growth and shaping of the plant cells. Plant cells, similar to animal cells, respond to externally applied forces, such as by reorganization of their cytoskeletal network. The presence of a considerably rigid extracellular matrix, the cell wall, however, bestows the plant cells with a set of particular properties. Mainly, the growth of plant cells is controlled by the mechanics and chemical composition of the cell wall. A major part of research in plant cell mechanics is put toward the measurement and modeling of the cell wall mechanics to understand how modification of its composition and mechanical properties affects the cell function, growth and morphogenesis.
Because animal cells do not have cell walls to protect them like plant cells, they require other specialized structures to sustain external mechanical forces. All animal cells are encased within a cell membrane made of a thin lipid bilayer that protects the cell from exposure to the outside environment. Using receptors composed of protein structures, the cell membrane is able to let selected molecules within the cell. Inside the cell membrane includes the cytoplasm, which contains the cytoskeleton. A network of filamentous proteins including microtubules, intermediate filaments, and actin filaments makes up the cytoskeleton and helps maintain the cell's shape.
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