| First Author | Xanthis I | Year | 2019 |
| Journal | J Cell Sci | Volume | 132 |
| Issue | 11 | PubMed ID | 31076511 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:277149 | Mgi Id | MGI:6317156 |
| Doi | 10.1242/jcs.229542 | Citation | Xanthis I, et al. (2019) beta1 integrin is a sensor of blood flow direction. J Cell Sci 132(11):jcs229542 |
| abstractText | Endothelial cell (EC) sensing of fluid shear stress direction is a critical determinant of vascular health and disease. Unidirectional flow induces EC alignment and vascular homeostasis, whereas bidirectional flow has pathophysiological effects. ECs express several mechanoreceptors that respond to flow, but the mechanism for sensing shear stress direction is poorly understood. We determined, by using in vitro flow systems and magnetic tweezers, that beta1 integrin is a key sensor of force direction because it is activated by unidirectional, but not bidirectional, shearing forces. beta1 integrin activation by unidirectional force was amplified in ECs that were pre-sheared in the same direction, indicating that alignment and beta1 integrin activity has a feedforward interaction, which is a hallmark of system stability. En face staining and EC-specific genetic deletion studies in the murine aorta revealed that beta1 integrin is activated and is essential for EC alignment at sites of unidirectional flow but is not activated at sites of bidirectional flow. In summary, beta1 integrin sensing of unidirectional force is a key mechanism for decoding blood flow mechanics to promote vascular homeostasis.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper. |
