Announcing the call for the Special Issue on “Cardiovascular mechanobiology—a special issue to look at the state of the art and the newest insights into the role of mechanical forces in cardiovascular development,physiology, and disease”

This Commentary describes a call for submissions for the upcoming special issue focused on the state of the art of cardiovascular mechanobiology research and the newest insights into the role of mechanical forces in cardiovascular development, physiology, and disease

Cells in the human body are exposed to a variety of different forces which they sense and respond to. This is especially true for the cardiovascular system, where cells react for instance to blood flow, stretching forces from the filling of the heart with blood, or extracellular matrix stiffness. These parameters change throughout development and further in disease, which can dramatically impact the behavior of the sensing cells and the disease progression: blood flow and wall stress are sensed by endothelial cells in the arteries and determine the sites of atherosclerotic plaque formation; reduced ejection fraction leads to excessive stretching of cardiomyocytes in the ventricle with detrimental effects on cardiomyocyte signaling and function; and the cardiac extracellular matrix and also cardiomyocytes themselves stiffen as a response to injuries or diseases and lead to a loss of contractile function.Detailed knowledge of the source and the parameters of the forces as well as the mechanisms used by cells to sense and respond to them can help to understand disease mechanisms and identify to new paths of treating cardiovascular and other diseases. Unsurprisingly, mechanobiology as a discipline dedicated to the study of (sub-) cellular forces, topographies, and mechanically responsive molecules or complexes has been growing in importance. Methods initially being developed and used by only a few specialty labs have become standard techniques in cell and developmental biology. Similarly, the field of cardiovascular biology has seen a strong increase in publications related to mechanobiology over the past decades. This special issue is aiming to take stock at the recent developments and current state of the art of cardiovascular mechanobiology and will cover all topics related to the investigation into the role of mechanical forces in cardiovascular development, physiology, and disease.The Special Issue will be prepared and edited by the current authors (Pamela Swiatlowska and Thomas Iskratsch).