Skeletal alpha-actin (skA), a prominent fetal actin isoform that is reexpressed by adult cardiac myocytes after chronic overload in vivo, provides a model for studying cytoskeletal gene regulation by mechanical forces in vitro. We have determined the mechanisms by which perpendicular applied forces acting through integrins and the actin cytoskeleton regulate the expression of skA, Rat-2 fibroblasts were transiently transfected with plasmids containing 5'-regulatory regions of the skA gene fused to luciferase coding sequences. A constant, perpendicular force (0.2 pN/mu m(2)) was applied by using a collagen-magnetic bead model; a 25 % deformation was obtained on the dorsal cell surface. In this system, force is applied through focal adhesion integrins and strongly induces actin assembly [Glogauer, Arora, Yao, Sokholov, Ferrier and McCulloch(1997) J. Cell Sci. 110, 11-21]. skA promoter activity was inhibited by 68 % in cells subjected to 4 h of applied force, whereas Rous sarcoma virus promoter activity was unaffected. In cells transiently transfected with a skA expression vector there was also a parallel 40 % decrease in skA protein levels by force, as shown by Western blotting. In L8 cells, constitutive skA expression was decreased by more than 50 %. Analyses of specific motifs in the skA promoter revealed that transcriptional enhancer factor 1 and Yin and Yang 1 sites, but not serum response factor and Spl sites, mediated inhibitory responses to force. In cells treated with cycloheximide the force-induced inhibition was abrogated, indicating a dependence on new protein synthesis. Inhibition of actin filament assembly with either cytochalasin D or Ca2+-depleted medium blocked the inhibitory effect induced by the applied force, suggesting that actin filaments are required for the regulation of skA promoter activity. Western blot analysis showed that p38 kinase, but not Jun N-terminal kinase or extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2, was activated by force; indeed, the p38 kinase inhibitor SB203580 relieved the force-induced inhibition of skA. We conclude that the force-induced inhibition of skA promoter activity requires an intact actin cytoskeleton and can be map, ed to two different response elements. This inhibition might be mediated through the p38 kinase.