Gewebestress

Gewebestress, or tissue stress, describes the mechanical and physiological forces acting on body tissues. It includes external mechanical loads from movement and weight, as well as internal forces from fluid pressure, osmotic gradients, and cellular contractility. The resulting stress and deformation influence tissue structure, function, and signaling.

Mechanical stresses are typically categorized as tensile, compressive, or shear, and are often anisotropic, varying with direction and location. Acute loading can provoke injury, while chronic loading drives remodeling in healthy tissue; in diseased states, edema or inflammation can add hydrostatic components to gewebestress.

Cells sense gewebestress through mechanotransduction. Integrins link the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeleton at focal adhesions, transmitting forces to signaling pathways such as RhoA/ROCK, MAPK, and YAP/TAZ. These responses alter cytoskeletal organization, matrix production, and gene expression, shaping cell fate, proliferation, and inflammatory tone.

Physiological and pathological consequences: Proper gewebestress supports development and adaptation (bone density with load, muscle plasticity). Aberrant stress can contribute to fibrosis, osteoarthritis, vascular remodeling, and tumor progression, making gewebestress a focus in biomechanics, tissue engineering, and medicine.

Measurement and modeling: Researchers estimate tissue stress using imaging-based elastography (MR or ultrasound), indentation or shear testing, and computational approaches such as finite element analysis to infer internal stress distributions.