Cell Mechanics: Integrins, Migration, and Stiffness to YAP
The inner workings behind the palate cross-section · how cells feel and answer force
Prototype schematic
Cell migration
Module
Cell migration cycle
phase idle
The cell extends a protrusion, its integrins grip the ECM to build a focal adhesion, and actomyosin contraction pulls the body forward. Gripping at the front and releasing at the back, in a cycle, changes the cell's shape and moves it along the matrix.
ECM stiffness
50
Cell response
Cell shaperounded
Focal adhesionsfew
YAP locationcytoplasm
Target gene expressionlow
On stiff ECM, integrins cluster into focal adhesions and actomyosin tension builds. That tension sends YAP into the nucleus, where it switches on its target genes. On soft ECM, YAP stays in the cytoplasm and the genes stay off. This is how a cell turns a physical cue into gene expression.
Break down and build the road
phase idle
The cell releases enzymes (like MMPs) that break down the dense matrix ahead, clearing a path, and it lays down new matrix behind to build a road it can travel along. Cells both destroy and rebuild the ECM to move through it.
Why this sits next to the palate tool: when you zoom into the fusing shelves, this is
what the cells are doing. Neural-crest mesenchyme migrates in by gripping the matrix (left module), and the
stiffness of that matrix tunes the cells' signaling and gene expression through YAP (right module). Schematic,
grounded in Notebooks 3, 6, and 7.