Calcium's Role in Mechanotransduction during Muscle Development

Mechanotransduction is a process where cells sense their surroundings and convert the physical forces in their environment into an appropriate response. Calcium plays a crucial role in the translation of such forces to biochemical signals that control various biological processes fundamental in muscle development. The mechanical stimulation of muscle cells may for example result from stretch, electric and magnetic stimulation, shear stress, and altered gravity exposure. The response, mainly involving changes in intracellular calcium concentration then leads to a cascade of events by the activation of downstream signaling pathways. The key calcium-dependent pathways described here include the nuclear factor of…