ArticleBiophysical journal2013
Osmotic challenge drives rapid and reversible chromatin condensation in chondrocytes.
Article in Biophysical journal, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers.
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Who cites it
71 citing papers in PubMed, 131 citations in OpenAlex.
- From biomechanical mechanisms to clinical reasoning: Deciphering mechanobiological drivers of aortic valve calcification for precision therapy.Mechanobiology in medicine · 2026Review
- Targeting mechanotransduction components as therapeutic strategies in osteoarthritis.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Stress fiber traction force reshapes chromatin accessibility and YAP binding to direct diverse transcriptional programs in mesenchymal stem cells.Mechanobiology in medicine · 2026Article
- Osmotic pressure regulates DNA labelling and transcription with dCas9-SunTag system in live cells.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Hypo-osmolarity promotes naive pluripotency by reshaping cytoskeleton and increasing chromatin accessibility.Journal of advanced research · 2025Article
- Secreted Cytokines From Inflammatory Macrophages Modulate Sex Differences in Valvular Interstitial Cells on Hydrogel Biomaterials.Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A · 2025Article
- Inhibition of Mitochondrial Fission Reverses Simulated Microgravity-Induced Osteoblast Dysfunction by Enhancing Mechanotransduction and Epigenetic Modification.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2025Article
- Exploring the Multifactorial Regulation of PIEZO1 in Chondrocytes: Mechanisms and Implications.International journal of medical sciences · 2025Review
- Chromatin phase separation and nuclear shape fluctuations are correlated in a polymer model of the nucleus.Nucleus (Austin, Tex.) · 2024Article
- Article
- Histone H1.0 couples cellular mechanical behaviors to chromatin structure.Nature cardiovascular research · 2024Article
- Lipid droplets are intracellular mechanical stressors that impair hepatocyte function.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Biomimetic Convex Implant for Corneal Regeneration Through 3D Printing.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2023Article
- Mechanotransduction pathways in articular chondrocytes and the emerging role of estrogen receptor-α.Bone research · 2023Review
- Delayed reorganisation of F-actin cytoskeleton and reversible chromatin condensation in scleral fibroblasts under simulated pathological strain.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2022Article
- Nucleus size and its effect on nucleosome stability in living cells.Biophysical journal · 2022Article
- Extracellular matrix stiffness controls cardiac valve myofibroblast activation through epigenetic remodeling.Bioengineering & translational medicine · 2022Article
- The yellow brick road to nuclear membrane mechanotransduction.APL bioengineering · 2022Review
- Balance of osmotic pressures determines the nuclear-to-cytoplasmic volume ratio of the cell.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Fluid shear stress regulates the survival of circulating tumor cells via nuclear expansion.Journal of cell science · 2022Article
11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Changes in extracellular osmolality have been shown to alter gene expression patterns and metabolic activity of various cell types, including chondrocytes. However, mechanisms by which physiological or pathological changes in osmolality impact chondrocyte function remain unclear. Here we use quantitative image analysis, electron microscopy, and a DNase I assay to show that hyperosmotic conditions (>400 mOsm/kg) induce chromatin condensation, while hypoosmotic conditions (100 mOsm/kg) cause decondensation. Large density changes (p < 0.001) occur over a very narrow range of physiological osmolalities, which suggests that chondrocytes likely experience chromatin condensation and decondensation during a daily loading cycle. The effect of changes in osmolality on nuclear morphology (p < 0.01) and chromatin condensation (p < 0.001) also differed between chondrocytes in monolayer culture and three-dimensional agarose, suggesting a role for cell adhesion. The relationship between condensation and osmolality was accurately modeled by a polymer gel model which, along with the rapid nature of the chromatin condensation (<20 s), reveals the basic physicochemical nature of the process. Alterations in chromatin structure are expected to influence gene expression and thereby regulate chondrocyte activity in response to osmotic changes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.