1st year PhD students Mechanobiology quiz

What is the minimum range of forces that can deform a cell membrane?

• Nanonewton (nN)

• Femtonewton (fN)

• Newton (N)

• Piconewton (pN)

What is stiffness?

• The resistance of a material to plastic deformation

• The extent to which an object resists deformation

• The level of stress at which a material breaks

What unit is commonly used to measure stiffness in materials?

• Pascals (Pa)

• Joules (J)

• Newtons (N)

• Watts (W)

What is the average stiffness of a fibroblast?

• 1 kPa

• 1 MPa

• 1 Pa

• 100 Pa

Indicate how a cell can mechanically sense its surroundings (multiple answers possible)

• Via cell membrane tension

• Via GPCRs (G protein coupled receptors)

• Via integrin receptors

• Via ion channels

What is cellular mechanotransduction?

• The conversion of a mRNA sequence in a chain of

  aminoacidic

• The conversion of a mechanical stimulus into

  electrochemical activity

• The artificial insertion of DNA material in cells by

  mechanical stress

• The conversion of a chemical signal in gene

  expression

Which of the following proteins is not found in focal adhesions?Talin

• Talin

• Vinculin

• Alpha Catenin

• Integrin

Which from the following ion channel family is not mechanosensitive? (multiple answers possible)

• Piezo channels

• Voltage-gated ion channels

• Cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels (CNG)

• Transient receptor potential channels (TRP)

Which of the following transcription factors responds to mechanical stimulation?

• NF-kB (Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells)
• AP-1 (Activator protein 1)
• CREB (cAMP response element-binding protein)
• YAP (Yes-associated protein)

Which of the following biological mechanisms does not depend on "mechanics"?

• Cell migration during wound healing

• Muscle contraction

• DNA base pairing during replication

• Tissue morphogenesis during development