Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40291652›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2025

Small Accelerations of the cell generate sufficient nuclear motion to modulate transcriptional activity, driving cellular response independent of matrix strain.

Nina Nikitina, Jonathan Wadsworth, Matthew Goelzer, Madison Goldfeldt, Nurbanu Bursa, Sean Howard, Chase Crandall, Amevi Semodji, Anamaria G Zavala, Stefan Judex and 6 more

Abstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Nina NikitinaMechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Boise State University.
Jonathan WadsworthMechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Boise State University.
Matthew GoelzerBiomedical Engineering, Oral Roberts University.
Madison GoldfeldtMechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Boise State University.
Nurbanu BursaMechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Boise State University.
Sean HowardMechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Boise State University.
Chase CrandallMechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Boise State University.
Amevi SemodjiMechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Boise State University.
Anamaria G ZavalaMechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Boise State University.
Stefan JudexBiomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University.
Janet RubinDepartment of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Trevor J LujanMechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Boise State University.
Clare K FitzpatrickMechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Boise State University.
Clinton T RubinBiomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University.
Aykut SaticiMechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Boise State University.
Gunes UzerMechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Boise State University.ORCID 0000-0002-1178-4942

Funding

VPS35 D620N inhibits autophagy through disrupted hyaluronic acid-CD44 signalingP20GM109095 · NIGMS · BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY · PI OCHOA-REPARAZ, JAVIER · 2014 to 2023
$22.7M
Optimizing Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease.P20GM148321 · NIGMS · BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY · PI Javier Ochoa-Reparaz · 2023 to 2026
$10.2M
Role of force regulated nuclear structure in expression of osteogenesisR01AR075803 · NIAMS · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI RUBIN, JANET E · 2020 to 2024
$2.4M
Role of LINC-mediated Mechanosignaling in MSC AgingR01AG059923 · NIA · BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY · PI UZER, GUNES · 2020 to 2024
$1.6M
Role of Distortion Energy in Fibroblast-Mediated Remodeling of Collagen MatricesR15AR075314 · NIAMS · BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY · PI LUJAN, TREVOR JUSTIN · 2019 to 2021
$507k
Live Cell Imaging System for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology ResearchS10OD032354 · OD · BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY · PI UZER, GUNES · 2022 to 2022
$233k
NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR075803NIAMS NIH HHS R15 AR075314NIA NIH HHS R01 AG059923NIGMS NIH HHS P20 GM109095NIGMS NIH HHS P20 GM148321NIH HHS S10 OD032354
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The cell's mechanical environment is a fundamental determinant of its activity. Ostensibly, the cellular response is dependent on interactions between extracellular matrix deformations and the cell adhesome. Low-intensity vibration (LIV) induces sinusoidal mechanical accelerations that stimulate mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) anabolism despite generating minimal matrix strain. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that accelerations of less than 1g cause nuclear motions relative to the cell membrane in adherent cells, resulting in elevated stresses in the cytoskeleton that promote transcriptional activity. Coupling a piezoelectric vibration platform with real-time microscopy, we applied a 0.7g, 90Hz LIV signal that oscillates the cell with displacements of up to ±11 μm. Live-cell tracking revealed that the sinusoidal vibrations caused the nucleus to move ±1.27 μm (17% of total displacement) out of phase with the cell membrane. Disruption of the LINC complex, which mechanically couples the nucleoskeleton to the cytoskeleton, doubled the magnitude of this relative motion, indicating that the nucleo-cytoskeletal configuration plays a major role in regulating nuclear motion. Consistent with a previously reported increase in nuclear stiffness caused by LIV, machine-learning-based image segmentation of confocal micrographs showed that LIV increased both apical and basal F-actin fiber numbers, generating a denser, more branched actin network near the nucleus. Following six 20 min bouts of LIV applied to MSC, RNA sequencing identified 372 differentially expressed genes. Upregulated gene sets were linked to F-actin assembly and focal adhesion pathways. Finite element simulations showed that nuclear stresses increased by LIV up to 18% were associated with nuclei flattening and a 30-50% increase in actin-generated forces. These findings demonstrate that low-intensity accelerations, independent of matrix strain, can directly activate a response of the nucleus, leading to cytoskeletal reorganization and heightened nuclear stresses. Thus, even very small oscillatory mechanical signals can markedly influence cell outcomes, establishing a mechanosensing pathway independent of extracellular strains.

Indexed as

CytoskeletonFinite Element ModelingLINC ComplexLow-Intensity Vibration (LIV)Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs)Nuclear OscillationNuclear Stress

Identifiers

PMID40291652
PMCPMC12026902

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.