Short Bursts of Mechanical Stress on Epithelial Cells Can Trigger Lasting Biological Response
Ning Wang, BioE professor and director of the Institute for Mechanobiology, and a team of researchers published “Mechanomemory After Short Episodes of Intermittent Stresses Induces YAP Translocation via Increasing F-actin” in APL Bioengineering. The research demonstrates that short, repeated episodes of mechanical stress can trigger lasting biological responses in epithelial cells, suggesting that short bursts of exercise may produce the same cellular effects as continuous, longer-duration workouts.
This article originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Cyrus Moulton. Main photo: Ning Wang, Northeastern professor of bioengineering, has revealed what changes inside cells in response to force. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Cells remember short durations of force. What does it mean for exercise? Northeastern researcher explains
Anyone who’s been pleasantly surprised that they can still ride a bike or swim laps after a long hiatus might surmise that our cells have some sort of memory.
But how could this work?
New research from Northeastern University reveals not only what changes inside cells in response to force—a push or pull on an object—but that these changes continue after the force subsides.
“Once force is removed, people previously thought the effect on the cell was done—we showed that’s not true,” says Ning Wang, professor of bioengineering and director of the Institute for Mechanobiology at Northeastern. “The cells remember what they experienced before, and you have the same impact after the force is removed.”
Wang is the founding director of the Institute for Mechanobiology at Northeastern University. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
In fact, the research found that because these changes continue, you get the same effect whether force is applied continuously over a set time period or in short intervals separated by periods of rest.
The study provides experimental evidence that short, repeated episodes of mechanical stress can trigger lasting biological responses in epithelial cells, especially through the movement of YAP protein into the nucleus. The findings suggest that intermittent stress patterns, similar to those during short bursts of exercise, may produce the same cellular effects as continuous, longer-duration workouts.
Wang says the research is promising for people with limited mobility or endurance—for instance, the elderly—who don’t have to exert themselves continuously to get the cellular benefits of exercise.
The research, published in the journal APL Bioengineering, is the first time that scientists have observed memory from force in cells that aren’t nerve cells, Wang says.
Read full story at Northeastern Global News