this work was supported by the seed fund from the mechanobiology institute at the national university of singapore .
 intracellular and extracellular mechanical environments have a significant impact on survival and proliferation of cells . 
 while the extracellular signal - regulated kinase ( erk ) subfamily of map kinases plays critical roles in regulations of these cellular behaviors , activation of erk is affected by mechanical conditions of cells . 
 we have recently found that erk is activated on contractile actomyosin bundles . 
 erk activation on actomyosin bundles depends on tension in the bundles , which is generated by either myosin ii activity of external forces . in this addendum 
 , we discuss a novel , potential role of actomyosin bundles in erk signaling and mechanical regulation of cell survival and proliferation . 
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