Imagine a dark room packed full of furniture. Now imagine moving through it to get to the other side, using only your toe tips for guidance. While it may seem challenging (or unspeakably tedious) to us, this is a task that many cells in our body perform regularly while migrating through tissues. New research from the Diz-Muñoz group at EMBL Heidelberg has now identified a novel molecular pathway that helps cells achieve this feat.
The path of a migrating neutrophil-like cell, with the cell membrane at the leading edge marked in purple and the curvature-sensing Snx33 protein visible in green. Credit: Isabel Romero Calvo/EMBL
Imagine a dark room packed full of furniture. Now imagine moving through it to get to the other side, using only your toe tips for guidance. While it may seem challenging to us, this is a task that many cells in our body perform regularly while migrating through tissues.from the Diz-Muñoz group at EMBL Heidelberg has now identified a novel molecular pathway that helps cells achieve this feat.
Cells often move by first extending a part of their outer membrane and cytoplasm in a chosen direction. This protrusion, called the"leading edge," is highly dynamic at first but settles as the cell slowly builds up the underlying skeletal structure. This"cytoskeleton," formed by filaments of acalled actin, helps stabilize the leading edge and allows the rest of the cell to move in that direction.
However, things get tricky when the leading edge encounters an obstacle, like another cell or a physical barrier. Alba Diz-Muñoz's group at EMBL studies how mechanical interactions at the surface of the cell regulate its behaviors."We have something of a material scientist's view on biology," Diz-Muñoz said."Physical properties like fluidity, viscosity, and curvature, particularly at the membrane interface, can influence how a cell reacts to its environment.
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