Focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a tyrosine kinase located at focal adhesions, is believed to play an important role in transducing adhesion signals applied to the external domain of integrin into chemical cascades inside the cell. The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that FAK is required for cellular responses to mechanical signals detected at integrins, such as the sensing of forces and stiffness. We use a fibroblast cell line engineered to suppress the expression of FAK in the presence of tetracyclin. This allows us to compare cells with and without FAK by culturing cells in the absence or presence of tetracyclin. |