Figure 9: Model by which stress fibre and cell stiffening sustain proliferation.

Early during cellular transformation, low Src activity promotes stress fibre assembly and upregulates EVL. Organization of these fibres by EVL leads to cell stiffening. Both EVL and myosin II-dependent cell stiffening potentiates ERK activity, sustains cell proliferation, as well as enhance Src activation. Later during transformation, higher Src activity, in addition to a reduction in EVL levels, would disassemble stress fibres to facilitate cell migration.