© 2002 Nature Publishing Group
MscL has one of the widest channel openings. Here transmembrane (TM) segments are in the open state. The side view is shown in relation to a hypothetically distorted bilayer. (Reprinted with permission
Stress – the bane of modern existence. Even cells have to deal with it, in its mechanical forms, at least. Osmotic pressure and shear forces from the environment signal dangerous situations that threaten the integrity of the cell membrane. Membrane channels sense and respond to these signals allowing cells to cope. In complex organisms, specialized cells go beyond mere coping, turning the signals into interpretable sensations such as touch and hearing. In recent years, biologists have discovered a wide array of mechanosensitive channels that mediate responses to physical forces, including members of at least four major protein families.
The challenge now is to separate the wheat from the chaff and find which channels ...
