Key result
Mechanical forces and mechanotransduction pathways emerge as critical regulators of vertebrate heart regeneration.
Why the study?
The potential of mechanical forces acting on cardiac cells to guide cardiac regeneration remains an open area of investigation.
This review highlights the emerging role of mechanobiology and mechanical forces in guiding cardiac regeneration, drawing insights from highly regenerative vertebrate models.
Mechanical forces should not yet guide clinical cardiac regeneration; leaves open key mechanisms in teleost and urodele models.
Heart function is tightly coupled to mechanical forces acting on cardiac cells, which are converted into intracellular signals that regulate gene expression and cellular behavior. While dysregulation of these forces contributes to cardiovascular diseases, their potential to guide regeneration remains an open and exciting area of investigation. Vertebrates with innate regenerative capacity, such as teleost fish and urodele amphibians, offer unique opportunities to uncover the underlying physical principles of heart regeneration. Recent advances in intravital imaging and biomechanical tools now enable direct interrogation of mechanical cues and mechanotransduction pathways in the intact, regenerating heart. In this review, we summarize recent findings in regenerative cardiac mechanobiology and highlight key open questions in this rapidly evolving field.
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Majid et al. (2026) studied this question. Mechanical forces and mechanotransduction pathways are emerging as critical regulators of heart regeneration, enabled by advanced imaging and biomechanical tools in regenerative vertebrate models.
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