Michael SHEETZ
Founding Director and Collaborator, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore
Affiliations
Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UTMB Health
Derek Yuen Yee Jun
Research Assistant, Bershadsky Group
Lab Meeting with the Chan Lab – the Node
The Chan Lab sits down with the Node for to chat about lab life (read here)!
Defining the pattern of cell death and replacement
Researchers from the Toyama Lab at MBI reveal how mechanical factors control apoptosis and cell replacement. https://www.mbi.nus.edu.sg/featured-research/defining-the-pattern-of-cell-death-and-replacement
The Chan lab celebrates two new papers!
Congratulations to the teams! (Read the publication here and the preprint here)
Seeking Research Associate in Molecular and Cell Biology in the Kanchanawong Lab at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
We are seeking a Research Associate in Molecular and Cell Biology to join the Kanchanawong at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
Michael Sheetz
Collaborator
Research Areas
Cell migration, cell-cell and cell-substrate interaction
Research Interests
The morphology of cells, organs and whole organisms is determined by the generation of forces on the immediate environment, which is either extracellular matrix or adjacent cells. We are currently engaged in studies to understand the detailed molecular mechanisms involved in a variety of phenomena from cancer metastasis to brain function. Further, we are developing several new tools and protocols for measuring cell forces at the molecular level, which are revealing many new aspects of how cells can both generate and respond to external forces. We have an effort underway to define quantitatively the steps involved in cell adhesion to and spreading on a matrix-coated surface. Using a variety of cell lines that are missing proteins in various motility pathways, we are determining the quantitative changes in the spreading process. This will enable us to generate a detailed model of the process of spreading that will be a model for further studies of how cells differentiate, regenerate tissues or metastasize.
Biography
Hailing from Columbia University, Prof Michael Sheetz has more than 40 years’ experience in the biomedical field. Introduced to Singapore by Prof Hew Choy Leong of the National University of Singapore’s Department of Biological Sciences, Prof Sheetz was sought to lead an RCE project. This resulted in a two-year effort to organise and submit a proposal on Mechanobiology where Prof Sheetz set the theme and direction of the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI). As Founding Director of the MBI, he led the institute for 10 years and built it into a world-leading research centre in the field of mechanobiology.
Education
PhD California Institute of Technology
Recent Publications
- Jain K, Kishan K, Minhaj RF, Kanchanawong P, Sheetz MP, and Changede R. Immobile Integrin Signaling Transit and Relay Nodes Organize Mechanosignaling through Force-Dependent Phosphorylation in Focal Adhesions. ACS Nano 2025;. [PMID: 39760672]
- Lin S, Changede R, Farrugia AJ, Bershadsky AD, Sheetz MP, Prost J, and Rupprecht J. Membrane Tilt Drives Phase Separation of Adhesion Receptors. Phys Rev Lett 2024; 132(18):188402. [PMID: 38759206]
- Jain K, Minhaj RF, Kanchanawong P, Sheetz MP, and Changede R. Nano-clusters of ligand-activated integrins organize immobile, signalling active, nano-clusters of phosphorylated FAK required for mechanosignaling in focal adhesions. bioRxiv 2024;. [PMID: 38464288]
- Jain K, Pandey A, Wang H, Chung T, Nemati A, Kanchanawong P, Sheetz MP, Cai H, and Changede R. TiO2 Nano-Biopatterning Reveals Optimal Ligand Presentation for Cell-Matrix Adhesion Formation. Adv Mater 2024;:e2309284. [PMID: 38340044]
- Jain K, Lim KYE, Sheetz MP, Kanchanawong P, and Changede R. Intrinsic self-organization of integrin nanoclusters within focal adhesions is required for cellular mechanotransduction. bioRxiv 2023;. [PMID: 38045378]
- Oh D, Liu X, Sheetz MP, and Kenney LJ. Small, Dynamic Clusters of Tir-Intimin Seed Actin Polymerization. Small 2023;:e2302580. [PMID: 37649226]
- Qin R, Melamed S, Yang B, Saxena M, Sheetz MP, and Wolfenson H. Tumor Suppressor DAPK1 Catalyzes Adhesion Assembly on Rigid but Anoikis on Soft Matrices. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:959521. [PMID: 35927990]
- Jain K, Kanchanawong P, Sheetz MP, Zhou X, Cai H, and Changede R. Ligand functionalization of titanium nanopattern enables the analysis of cell-ligand interactions by super-resolution microscopy. Nat Protoc 2022;. [PMID: 35896742]
- Toh PJY, Lai JKH, Hermann A, Destaing O, Sheetz MP, Sudol M, and Saunders TE. Optogenetic control of YAP cellular localisation and function. EMBO Rep 2022;:e54401. [PMID: 35876586]
- Oh D, Chen Z, Biswas KH, Bai F, Ong HT, Sheetz MP, and Groves JT. Competition for shared downstream signaling molecules establishes indirect negative feedback between EGFR and EphA2. Biophys J 2022;. [PMID: 35430415]
Lab Members
How are adherens junctions assembled?
How are adherens junctions assembled? Introduction to the Assembly of Adherens Junctions In situations where migrating cells first encounter each other to form junctions, changes in cellular morphology have been observed and correlated with [...]
How do post-translational modifications of cell-cell adhesions impact their stability?
How do post-translational modifications of cell-cell adhesions impact their stability? Post-translational modification of adhesion complex components is one of the most complicated aspects in the regulation of cell-cell adhesions. It involves an array of [...]
What are anchoring junctions?
What are anchoring junctions? Cells adhere to the ECM, or to other cells, via complexes that can collectively be called anchoring junctions (reviewed in [1][2]). These multiprotein complexes are found in all cell types [...]
What are immunoglobulin superfamily cell adhesion molecules?
What are immunoglobulin superfamily cell adhesion molecules? Members of the Immunoglobulin superfamily include vascular and neural cell adhesions molecules (VCAM and NCAM), intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM) and the Nectins and nectin-like (Necl) proteins. Nectins [...]
What are tight junctions?
What are tight junctions? Tight junctions, also known as Zonula Occludens, are cell-cell adhesion complexes that play a role in the organization of epithelial tissue. By forming a meshwork of membrane contacts around the [...]
How are tight junctions assembled?
How are tight junctions assembled? The epithelial tissue is held intact by the formation of tight junctions between cells. The basic functional units that form adhesive contacts across cells are the tight junction strands, [...]
What are adherens junctions?
What are adherens junctions? Adherens junctions (AJs) are cell-cell adhesion complexes that are continuously assembled and disassembled, allowing cells within a tissue to respond to forces, biochemical signals and structural changes in their microenvironment. [...]
What are selectins?
What are selectins? Members of the selectin family, E-selectin (endothelial), L-selectin (leukocyte) and P-selectin (platelet), all of which bind to fucosylated carbohydrates [1]. For example P-selectin on leukocytes binds PSGL-1 (P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1) on [...]
What is the role of plaque proteins in adherens junction assembly?
What is the role of plaque proteins in adherens junction assembly? Cytoplasmic plaque of adherens junctions One of the primary roles of cell-cell adhesion complexes is to connect the actomyosin network of one cell [...]
What is the role of cadherin and nectin recruitment in adherens junction assembly?
What is the role of cadherin and nectin recruitment in adherens junction assembly? Cadherin Recruitment Type I cadherins, also known as classical cadherins, are commonly found in adherens junctions (AJs) and desmosomes. They are [...]
What is the ‘Fork Initiation and Zipper’ model?
What is the ‘Fork Initiation and Zipper’ model? The ‘Fork Initiation and Zipper’ Model Nectin-nectin cis interactions enable the formation of nectin-nectin trans interactions on apposing cells. These interactions, being uncooperative and short-lived in [...]
What are some alternative mechanisms in the regulation of adherens junctions?
What are some alternative mechanisms in the regulation of adherens junctions? Alternative mechanisms also exist to regulate AJ formation and function. For example, the membrane trafficking system plays a significant role by facilitating the [...]
