Mechanoresponse of stem cells for vascular repair

Figure 5 Transduction patterns of mechanical signals into the biological signals, when the strain stress is applied onto the cellular surface. This figure describes how the mechanosensitive molecules such as integrins, GPCRs, and ion channels sense the strain stress and trigger downstream signaling cascades, then initiate transcription and translation of various genes for cell events in the process of vessel repair. GPCR: G protein-coupled receptor; RTKs: Receptor tyrosine kinases; PKC: Protein kinase C; MAPK: Mitogen-activated protein kinase; ERK: Extracellular signal-regulated kinase.