ArticleNature2017
Mechanical stretch triggers rapid epithelial cell division through Piezo1.
Article in Nature, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 443 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
443 citing papers in PubMed, 802 citations in OpenAlex.
- Piezo-type mechanosensitive ion channel component 1: a mechano-bioenergetic transducer in the tumour microenvironment.Annals of medicine · 2026Review
- Super-resolution imaging reveals stretch-induced architectural rearrangement of desmoplakin in desmosomes.The Journal of investigative dermatology · 2026Article
- Mechanical memory of confinement pressure governs expansion size in epithelial monolayers.Life science alliance · 2026Article
- Starvation improves epithelial fitness by selectively extruding DNA damaged cells.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Recursive feedback between Piezo1 conformation and membrane mechanics drives self-organization into finite clusters.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Cilia-to-basement membrane signaling is a biomechanical driver in models of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Article
- Piezo ion channels in the digestive system: Mechanotransduction pathways and therapeutic targeting strategies.Genes & diseases · 2026Review
- Piezo channels in physical field therapy: From mechanotransduction mechanisms to bioelectromagnetic modulation and biomedical applications.Mechanobiology in medicine · 2026Review
- Piezo1 in digestive homeostasis and disease: Barrier function, immune signalling, cellular injury and metabolism.Clinical and translational medicine · 2026Review
- Biophysics of lumen morphogenesis.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2026Review
- Chromosome condensation mechanically primes the nucleus for mitosis.The EMBO journal · 2026Article
- Targeting AMPK signaling in nucleus pulposus cells ameliorates spaceflight microgravity-induced intervertebral disc degeneration.Cell death and differentiation · 2026Article
- The signaling and regulatory functions of dying cells and cell corpses.Communications biology · 2026Review
- Research status and trends of Piezo1 and brain: A bibliometric analysis.Neuroprotection (Chichester, England) · 2026Article
- Embryonic cerebrospinal fluid pressure in fetal mice in utero: External factors pressurize the intraventricular space.Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists · 2026Article
- Intestinal epithelial PIEZO1 regulates macrophage-to-myofibroblast transition via epithelial-derived TGF-α signaling in Crohn's disease.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2026Article
- Exercise Alleviates Osteoporosis and Hyperglycemia in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Mice via Piezo1-Mediated Mechanotransduction.Biology · 2026Article
- Morphometric analysis reveals that the chick cranial neural tube expands as an active shell.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Astrocyte-derived miR-124 impairs glioma cell volume regulation and migration by reducing CaCellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2026Article
- The Role of Piezo 1 in the Study of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration: Phenotype, Mechanism and Treatment.Orthopaedic surgery · 2026Review
383 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Despite acting as a barrier for the organs they encase, epithelial cells turn over at some of the fastest rates in the body. However, epithelial cell division must be tightly linked to cell death to preserve barrier function and prevent tumour formation. How does the number of dying cells match those dividing to maintain constant numbers? When epithelial cells become too crowded, they activate the stretch-activated channel Piezo1 to trigger extrusion of cells that later die. However, it is unclear how epithelial cell division is controlled to balance cell death at the steady state. Here we show that mammalian epithelial cell division occurs in regions of low cell density where cells are stretched. By experimentally stretching epithelia, we find that mechanical stretch itself rapidly stimulates cell division through activation of the Piezo1 channel. To stimulate cell division, stretch triggers cells that are paused in early G2 phase to activate calcium-dependent phosphorylation of ERK1/2, thereby activating the cyclin B transcription that is necessary to drive cells into mitosis. Although both epithelial cell division and cell extrusion require Piezo1 at the steady state, the type of mechanical force controls the outcome: stretch induces cell division, whereas crowding induces extrusion. How Piezo1-dependent calcium transients activate two opposing processes may depend on where and how Piezo1 is activated, as it accumulates in different subcellular sites with increasing cell density. In sparse epithelial regions in which cells divide, Piezo1 localizes to the plasma membrane and cytoplasm, whereas in dense regions in which cells extrude, it forms large cytoplasmic aggregates. Because Piezo1 senses both mechanical crowding and stretch, it may act as a homeostatic sensor to control epithelial cell numbers, triggering extrusion and apoptosis in crowded regions and cell division in sparse regions.
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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.