Mammalian cells live in the aqueous medium and are filled with water. Water flux around, across, and within cells play significant roles in cell shape changes, cell motility, tissue function, and volume regulation. Fluid motion and extracellular hydraulic resistance can generate non-trivial mechanical forces on cells or tissues and modulate cell polarization and motility. Cellular fluid dynamics highly depend on the osmolytes in- and outside the cell. These osmolytes include charged ions, small molecules, and proteins, which collectively influence the electrochemical environment of the cell. For the cell to maintain a consistent electrochemical environment, an intricate molecular system must exist that actively controls the cell water content, the cytoplasmic ionic content, and the protein-solute interaction. In addition, cellular fluid dynamics is often coupled with actomyosin activities, generating synergistic effects that need to be studied and understood.

Over the last century, research on cell migration was limited to the effects of biochemical signals that direct a cell to move from one place to another. In the past two or three decades, however, scientists have started to recognize the importance of the mechanical factors that play a role in cell migration. Now, instead of only focusing on the effect of the solid environment of cells, researchers are discovering the significance of the fluid environment as well as fluid-solid interactions. We are beginning to realize the impact of fluid in cell mechanics, but further research is needed before we can fully appreciate the interaction of fluid, solutes, and actomyosin. Therefore, this Research Topic aims to collect the newest cutting-edge research on the impact of fluid in cell mechanics and mechanobiology.

The scope of this collection encompasses experimental and theoretical approaches in mechanobiology, biology, biochemistry, biophysics, and other relevant fields. The editors welcome a variety of article types, including Original Research, Brief Research Reports, Reviews/Mini-Reviews, Methods, and Perspectives. Specifically, submissions could focus on, but are not limited to, the following subtopics:

• fluid dynamics and properties inside and outside of cells
• fluid impacts on cell mechanics, dynamics, polarization, and morphology
• coupling and interaction among fluid, actomyosin, and proteins
• water dynamics and cell volume regulations
• osmosis and electrochemical impacts on cell dynamics
• membrane mechanics and fluid flow

More information on article types accepted by the journal can be found here.

Descriptive studies consisting solely of bioinformatic investigation of publicly available genomic/transcriptomic/proteomic data do not fall within the scope of the section unless they are expanded and provide significant biological or mechanistic insight into the process being studied.

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Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

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