Mechanical forces play indispensable roles in biological processes in living organisms. Cells in living organisms sense and process mechanical information that is critical to their growth, motility, and other physiological functions. The cytoskeleton has a significant contribution to the mechanotransduction and mechanoregulation of cellular events, in which microtubules (MTs) play pivotal roles as the most rigid component of the cytoskeleton. However, the response of MTs to mechanical forces has remained elusive for a long time. In recent years, we have started to understand the details of how MTs respond to any mechanical cue and how the structural stability and functionality of MTs are affected by mechanical forces. In this review article, the latest progress in the study of the mechanoresponsiveness of MTs is discussed. A novel methodology is emphasized that recently enabled systematic exploration of the mechanical deformation of MTs under tensile and compressive forces. Moreover, the newest outcomes that confirmed the impact of mechanical forces on the functionalities of MTs are also discussed. All this recent progress is expected to advance our current understanding of the mechanical deformation of MTs in cells and its roles in the mechanoregulation of cellular processes. Recent studies on exploration of mechanical deformation of microtubules under tensile and compressive stress, using a newly developed methodology, have been reviewed. In the first part of this review article, development of the methodology and its utility in studying the mechanoresponsiveness of microtubules have been described. In the second part, applications of the recently developed methodology in studying dynamic soft interfaces have been elaborately discussed.

中文翻译：

---

一种探索微管机械响应的新方法及其在研究动态软界面中的应用

机械力在生物体的生物过程中起着不可或缺的作用。生物体中的细胞感知和处理对其生长、运动和其他生理功能至关重要的机械信息。细胞骨架对细胞事件的机械转导和机械调节有重大贡献，其中微管 (MT) 作为细胞骨架中最刚性的组成部分发挥着关键作用。然而，长期以来，MTs 对机械力的反应一直难以捉摸。近年来，我们开始了解 MT 如何响应任何机械线索以及 MT 的结构稳定性和功能如何受机械力影响的细节。在这篇综述文章中，讨论了 MTs 机械响应研究的最新进展。强调了一种新颖的方法，最近能够系统地探索 MT 在拉伸和压缩力下的机械变形。此外，还讨论了确认机械力对 MT 功能影响的最新成果。所有这些最近的进展有望促进我们目前对细胞中 MT 的机械变形及其在细胞过程机械调节中的作用的理解。最近对使用新开发的方法探索微管在拉伸和压缩应力下的机械变形的研究进行了综述。在这篇评论文章的第一部分中，描述了该方法的发展及其在研究微管机械响应方面的效用。在第二部分，