Certain eukaryotic cells are believed to sense and respond to vibrational stimuli that are too small even to be transduced by mechanosensitive ion channels. One possible mechanism of signal amplification and transduction is torsional and translational resonance of the nucleus, the stiffest and densest organelle in a eukaryotic cell. To explore this possibility, we developed a theoretical model that analyzes the natural frequencies of torsional and translational vibrations of the nucleus. The model predicts that the natural frequency for torsional vibration is dependent upon cytoskeletal contractility, while that for translational vibration is dependent upon cytoskeletal stiffness. Further analysis across many species and cell types suggests that, for most eukaryotic cells, torsional vibration is the dominant form of nuclear response to higher frequency stimuli, providing a new potential mechanism for frequency-based mechanotransduction.

某些真核细胞被认为能感知振动刺激并对其作出反应，振动刺激太小，甚至无法通过机械敏感离子通道进行转导。信号放大和转导的一种可能机制是核的扭转和平移共振，核是真核细胞中最坚硬和最密集的细胞器。为了探索这种可能性，我们开发了一个理论模型来分析原子核扭转和平移振动的固有频率。该模型预测扭转振动的固有频率取决于细胞骨架收缩性，而平移振动的固有频率取决于细胞骨架刚度。对许多物种和细胞类型的进一步分析表明，对于大多数真核细胞，