and convert them into biochemical signals that elicit specific cellular responses.
Integrins (transmembrane receptor proteins) respond to signals and change the cytoskelton by triggering
downstream processes that up-regulate and/or down-regulate intracellular activity as transcription factor
activation and gene regulation affecting processes such as migration, proliferation, differentiation,
and apoptosis.
For instance, stem cells have been shown to differentiate into different cell types
depending on the stiffness of the matrix on which they are grown.
