Cytoskeletal mechanics in airway smooth muscle cells

Mechanical properties and contractility of airway smooth muscle tissue are largely responsible for airway narrowing and airway hyperresponsiveness in asthma. To explain these pathological phenomena, investigators have studied the mechanical behaviour of airway smooth muscle cells and its relationship to the underlying cellular biophysical and biochemical mechanisms. During the past decade, a growing body of evidence has indicated that a deformable intracellular polymer network, known as the cytoskeleton, plays a major role in transmitting and distributing mechanical forces within the cell and in their conversion into biochemical responses. We review here evidence suggesting that the tensed and crosslinked cytoskeletal lattice, the contractile apparatus, and the cytoskeleton–extracellular matrix interactions are key determinants of mechanical properties and mechanosensing of airway smooth muscle cells, with the mechanical distending stress of the cytoskeleton playing the central role.