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Review
. 2021 May;1491(1):3-24.
doi: 10.1111/nyas.14529. Epub 2020 Nov 24.

The cellular mechanobiology of aging: from biology to mechanics

Apratim Bajpai  1 , Rui Li  1   2 , Weiqiang Chen  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

The cellular mechanobiology of aging: from biology to mechanics

Apratim Bajpai et al. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2021 May.

Abstract

Aging is a chronic, complicated process that leads to degenerative physical and biological changes in living organisms. Aging is associated with permanent, gradual physiological cellular decay that affects all aspects of cellular mechanobiological features, including cellular cytoskeleton structures, mechanosensitive signaling pathways, and forces in the cell, as well as the cell's ability to sense and adapt to extracellular biomechanical signals in the tissue environment through mechanotransduction. These mechanobiological changes in cells are directly or indirectly responsible for dysfunctions and diseases in various organ systems, including the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, skin, and immune systems. This review critically examines the role of aging in the progressive decline of the mechanobiology occurring in cells, and establishes mechanistic frameworks to understand the mechanobiological effects of aging on disease progression and to develop new strategies for halting and reversing the aging process. Our review also highlights the recent development of novel bioengineering approaches for studying the key mechanobiological mechanisms in aging.

Keywords: aging; cytoskeleton; force; mechanobiology; mechanotransduction.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Aging-associated alterations in cell mechanobiology, including the ECM, cell mechanics, cytoskeleton, nuclear mechanics, forces, and mechanosensitive signaling.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Critical mechanobiological cellular components affected by the aging process.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Major signaling pathways involved in aging-regulated cell mechanobiology.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Current bioengineering strategies for deciphering cellular mechanobiology in aging. (A) Atomic force microscopy. (B) Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) sensor. (C) Single cell traction force microscopy. (D) Elastic micropillar arrays. (E) Monolayer stress microscopy for multicellular force analysis. (F) Microtweezers systems for probing cell mechanics.
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