Several studies have shown that mechanical stimulation is required to maintain intervertebral disc integrity [ 6, 7], and that forced immobility is associated with muscle atrophy, such as a marked reduction in muscle size observed after spinal cord injury [ 8].
Finally, C. elegans exhibit a form of long-term memory in response to repetitive mechanical stimulation that requires GLR-1 [19]; we find that both GLR-2 and MAGI-1L mutants share a similar defect in long-term memory acquisition.
Chondrocytes in scaffolds have been shown to require mechanical stimulation to produce an extracellular matrix that resembles native cartilage.
In the present study, the training program included several flexibility exercises during the warm-up period, but no specific flexibility training was included in the training sessions, suggesting that the mechanical stimulation of the joints requires more specific exercises.
Although it is clear that appropriate mechanical stimulation from in utero muscle contractions is required for normal development of bone and cartilage, we know very little about the molecular mechanisms that incorporate mechanical cues with classical biochemical signalling pathways.
This model was used to identify the parameters required for the implementation of mechanical stimulation on an isokinetic machine.
These results indicate that ubiquitination of the GLR-1 subunit is required in order for prior mechanical stimulation to result in the loss of GLR-1 GFP GLR-1 GFPmagi-1(tm446) mutants.
A functioning F-actin cytoskeleton is required for this response to mechanical stimulation, but whether F-actin itself is the molecular mechanosensor or whether other molecules might mediate this function remains unclear (Dupont et al, 2011; Aragona et al, 2013).
Finally, we find that previously-stimulated animals later habituate to subsequent mechanostimulation more rapidly compared to animals initially reared without mechanical stimulation; MAGI-1L, GLR-1, and GLR-2 are required for this change in habituation kinetics.
