Mechanobiology of Proteins and Cells

This meeting, organized by the Biophysical Society and hosted by the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL), provided a forum for analysis of the mechanobiology of proteins and cellular structures by biophysicists, biochemists, structural biologists, and physiologists.

Fluctuations in extracellular osmolality elicit transmembrane water and solute fluxes that profoundly perturb cell structure, cytoplasmic composition and cell function. Sensors, transducers and regulators ameliorate the consequences of those perturbations by modulating the accumulation and release of selected solutes, the (macro) molecular composition of the cytoplasm and the skeletal structures of the cell. Mechanobiology is not only crucial for cell volume regulation but key to a wide range of physiological processes and involves sensing of forces such as osmotic pressure, membrane stretch, vibration, and touch.

Event Organizers

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• Bert Poolman, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
• Paul Blount, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, USA
• Kevin Strange, Mount Desert Island Biological laboratory, USA