Chemical and mechanical signaling are essential for physiological processes. Dysregu- lation of these signals can promote disease states by altering force generation. It is cru- cial that we understand how these signals affect force generation and the implication of that force in health and disease. We approach this by investigating cells from two types of tissues: heart tissue cells and epithelial tumor cells. Chemical signaling by intracellu- lar calcium directly regulates heart contractions. Altered calcium handling in heart cells is known to affect force generation in the heart, leading deleterious effects resulting in cardiovascular disease. Chemical and mechanical signaling in epithelial affect epithe- lial cell force generation. Responses to chemomechanical signals that increase force by epithelial cells has been shown to increase metastatic potential in tumors. The need to understand how these signals affect force generation could provide new insights in identifying targets for treatment. We use computational models to help us gain mech- anistic insight into how cells regulate force generation as a response to chemical and mechanical cues.
","abstract_html":"<p>Chemical and mechanical signaling are essential for physiological processes. Dysregu- lation of these signals can promote disease states by altering force generation. It is cru- cial that we understand how these signals affect force generation and the implication of that force in health and disease. We approach this by investigating cells from two types of tissues: heart tissue cells and epithelial tumor cells. Chemical signaling by intracellu- lar calcium directly regulates heart contractions. Altered calcium handling in heart cells is known to affect force generation in the heart, leading deleterious effects resulting in cardiovascular disease. Chemical and mechanical signaling in epithelial affect epithe- lial cell force generation. Responses to chemomechanical signals that increase force by epithelial cells has been shown to increase metastatic potential in tumors. The need to understand how these signals affect force generation could provide new insights in identifying targets for treatment. We use computational models to help us gain mech- anistic insight into how cells regulate force generation as a response to chemical and mechanical cues.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Vazquez-Hidalgo, Esteban"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Philosophy, PhD","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Institute of Mathematical Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Paul Paolini","Christal Sohl","Ali Nadim"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:40:28Z","subjects":["actin","calcium","cancer","computational model","myosin"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/305","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Paul Paolini","Christal Sohl","Ali Nadim"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Vazquez-Hidalgo, Esteban"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-02-25T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Institute of Mathematical Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Philosophy, PhD"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["actin","calcium","cancer","computational model","myosin"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/305"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Chemical and mechanical signaling are essential for physiological processes. Dysregu- lation of these signals can promote disease states by altering force generation. It is cru- cial that we understand how these signals affect force generation and the implication of that force in health and disease. We approach this by investigating cells from two types of tissues: heart tissue cells and epithelial tumor cells. Chemical signaling by intracellu- lar calcium directly regulates heart contractions. Altered calcium handling in heart cells is known to affect force generation in the heart, leading deleterious effects resulting in cardiovascular disease. Chemical and mechanical signaling in epithelial affect epithe- lial cell force generation. Responses to chemomechanical signals that increase force by epithelial cells has been shown to increase metastatic potential in tumors. The need to understand how these signals affect force generation could provide new insights in identifying targets for treatment. We use computational models to help us gain mech- anistic insight into how cells regulate force generation as a response to chemical and mechanical cues.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Force regulation in contractile cells by chemical and mechanical signaling"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Paul Paolini","Christal Sohl","Ali Nadim"],"dc:creator":["Vazquez-Hidalgo, Esteban"],"dc:date.available":["2023-02-25T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Chemical and mechanical signaling are essential for physiological processes. Dysregu- lation of these signals can promote disease states by altering force generation. It is cru- cial that we understand how these signals affect force generation and the implication of that force in health and disease. We approach this by investigating cells from two types of tissues: heart tissue cells and epithelial tumor cells. Chemical signaling by intracellu- lar calcium directly regulates heart contractions. Altered calcium handling in heart cells is known to affect force generation in the heart, leading deleterious effects resulting in cardiovascular disease. Chemical and mechanical signaling in epithelial affect epithe- lial cell force generation. Responses to chemomechanical signals that increase force by epithelial cells has been shown to increase metastatic potential in tumors. The need to understand how these signals affect force generation could provide new insights in identifying targets for treatment. We use computational models to help us gain mech- anistic insight into how cells regulate force generation as a response to chemical and mechanical cues.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/305"],"dc:subject":["actin","calcium","cancer","computational model","myosin"],"dc:title":["Force regulation in contractile cells by chemical and mechanical signaling"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Institute of Mathematical Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Philosophy, PhD"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:40:28Z"}