Cell migration

Cell migration
Name	Cell migration
System	Cellular biology
Function	Movement of cells

Cell migration. Cells move through tissues during processes such as embryogenesis, wound healing, immune surveillance and cancer metastasis. Research spans institutions like Max Planck Society, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Institutes of Health, and collaborations between laboratories at Harvard University, Stanford University, and University of Cambridge. Key historical experiments were influenced by investigators associated with Carnegie Institution for Science and discoveries linked to work performed at Rockefeller University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Oxford.

Overview

Cell movement is driven by cytoskeletal rearrangements, adhesion dynamics and force generation mediated by proteins studied in labs at Broad Institute and Sanger Institute. Models developed in groups affiliated with European Molecular Biology Laboratory and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory integrate observations from organisms such as Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, Xenopus laevis and Mus musculus. Clinical and translational aspects are pursued at centers including Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Molecular mechanisms

Mechanistic studies identify roles for actin and myosin networks characterized originally by researchers at Rockefeller University and Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry. Signaling modules involving Rho family GTPases first defined in work associated with EMBO and further probed at University of California, Berkeley coordinate protrusion and contractility. Adhesion complexes containing integrins and focal adhesion proteins were elucidated in laboratories affiliated with University of Cambridge and Imperial College London. Vesicle trafficking and membrane remodeling pathways mapped by investigators at California Institute of Technology and Yale University contribute to leading edge dynamics. The interplay between microtubules and actin is informed by studies linking findings at Princeton University and University of Pennsylvania.

Types and modes of migration

Modes include mesenchymal movement characterized in studies from Duke University and amoeboid migration described by teams at University of Edinburgh. Collective migration observed in epithelial sheets was investigated by groups at Stanford University School of Medicine and University College London. Single-cell motility models were developed by researchers at Salk Institute and University of Tokyo, while neuronal migration paradigms emerged from labs at Columbia University and Karolinska Institutet. Cancer cell dissemination pathways were explored in consort with clinical centers such as MD Anderson Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Regulation and signaling

Extracellular cues from chemokines and growth factors characterized by studies at Institut Pasteur and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center guide directed movement. Pathways involving PI3K, MAPK and Src family kinases were detailed in research at University of California, San Francisco and Weizmann Institute of Science. Mechanical regulation mediated via extracellular matrix components such as collagen studied in collaboration with The Rockefeller University and tissue stiffness investigations at ETH Zurich influence migration programs. Transcriptional regulators implicated in migratory state transitions were identified by consortia including Wellcome Trust–funded groups and genome centers like Broad Institute.

Developmental and physiological roles

During gastrulation and organogenesis, cell translocation processes described in classical studies at Baylor College of Medicine and University of Chicago shape body plan formation in species used at Stockholm University and University of Zurich. Immune cell trafficking central to host defense was elucidated in clinical immunology programs at National Institutes of Health and Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Angiogenesis-driven endothelial migration studied at Karolinska Institutet and Yale School of Medicine underpins vascular development. Stem cell engraftment and niche colonization mechanisms have been advanced by research efforts at Stanford School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School.

Pathological implications

Aberrant migration contributes to metastatic spread investigated in clinical research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center. Fibrotic diseases with dysregulated fibroblast movement are subjects of studies at Cleveland Clinic and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Neurodevelopmental disorders linked to defective neuronal migration were uncovered through work at Children's Hospital Boston and University of California, San Diego. Inflammatory pathologies involving leukocyte trafficking have been studied in programs at Imperial College London and University of Toronto.

Experimental methods and measurement

Live-cell imaging techniques established in facilities at Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics and Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência enable time-lapse analyses. Microfluidic devices developed through collaborations between MIT and ETH Zurich permit chemotaxis assays. Quantitative traction force microscopy pioneered in groups at University of Washington and University of Minnesota measures forces. Genomic and proteomic profiling of migratory states leverages platforms at Broad Institute and European Bioinformatics Institute. In vivo lineage tracing and genetic perturbation approaches are routinely applied using resources from Jackson Laboratory and mouse facilities at Wellcome Sanger Institute.

Category:Cell biology