BACKGROUND Endothelial cells (ECs) sense the forces from blood flow through the glycocalyx, a carbohydrate rich luminal surface layer decorating most cells, and through forces transmitted through focal adhesions (FAs) on the abluminal side of the cell. OBJECTIVES This perspective paper explores a complementary hypothesis, that glycocalyx molecules on the abluminal side of the EC between the basement membrane and the EC membrane, occupying the space outside of FAs, work in concert with FAs to sense blood flow-induced shear stress applied to the luminal surface. RESULTS First, we summarize recent studies suggesting that the glycocalyx repels the plasma membrane away from the basement membrane, while integrin molecules attach to extracellular matrix (ECM) ligands. This coordinated attraction and repulsion results in the focal nature of integrin-mediated adhesion making the abluminal glycocalyx a participant in mechanotransduction. Further, the glycocalyx mechanically links the plasma membrane to the basement membrane providing a mechanism of force transduction when the cell deforms in the peri-FA space. To determine if the membrane might deform against a restoring force of an elastic abluminal glycocalyx in the peri-FA space we present some analysis from a multicomponent elastic finite element model of a sheared and focally adhered endothelial cell whose abluminal topography was assessed using quantitative total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy with an assumption that glycocalyx fills the space between the membrane and extracellular matrix. CONCLUSIONS While requiring experimental verification, this analysis supports the hypothesis that shear on the luminal surface can be transmitted to the abluminal surface and deform the cell in the vicinity of the focal adhesions, with the magnitude of deformation depending on the abluminal glycocalyx modulus.

中文翻译：

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腔内糖萼的力学生物学。

背景技术内皮细胞（EC）感测来自通过糖萼的血液的力，糖萼是装饰大多数细胞的富含碳水化合物的腔表面层，并且通过在细胞的腔侧上通过粘着粘附（FA）传递的力。目的本观点论文探讨了一个补充假设，即位于基底膜和EC膜之间的EC腔侧的糖萼分子占据了FA的外部空间，与FA协同工作，以感应血液流动引起的剪切应力。腔表面。结果首先，我们总结了最近的研究，这些研究表明糖萼排斥质膜远离基底膜，而整联蛋白分子附着于细胞外基质（ECM）配体。这种协调的吸引和排斥导致整联蛋白介导的粘附的局灶性，使无糖糖萼成为机械转导的参与者。此外，糖萼将质膜机械连接到基膜，从而在细胞在FA周围空间变形时提供力传递的机制。为了确定膜是否可能在FA周围空间中抵抗弹性abluminal糖萼的恢复力而变形，我们从剪切和聚焦粘附的内皮细胞的多组分弹性有限元模型中进行了一些分析，该模型使用定量的总内部内部量来评估abluminal的地形反射荧光显微镜，假设糖萼充满了膜和细胞外基质之间的空间。结论虽然需要实验验证，