Postdoctoral research associate Amanda Lewis is the first author on the latest manuscript from the Grandl Lab. “Piezo1 ion channels inherently function as independent mechanotransducers”, co-authored with PI Jorg Grandl, was just published at eLife. eLife also published a digest for the article, Sensing the pressure. Lewis' and Grandl's results suggest that Piezo channels act independently and are not influenced by close proximity to one another. The authors propose that this property may ensure that all parts of the cell surface react to mechanical force in the same way.
Photo: artistic rendering of Piezo ion channels (pink) randomly distributed across the surface of a cell. Image credit: Michael Young (CC BY 4.0)
eLife 2021;10:e70988 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.70988