Mechanical regulation of cell memory.

Mechanical cues in a cell’s microenvironment can produce long-term changes in cell phenotype and identity, supporting mechanical regulation of cell memory.

• Why it matters: The field needs an integrative framework to explain how microenvironment mechanics translate into persistent cellular states after signals stop.
• What they did: This Review synthesizes evidence on how external forces and ECM mechanical properties reshape structural memory of mechanosensitive molecules, transcription factor positioning, and ECM organization.
• The result: It outlines how mechanical regulation may act through mechano-chemical pathways and direct effects on nuclear architecture to influence epigenetic memory.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.