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Bringing up the rear: defining the roles of the uropod

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 10, pages 353–359 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Renewed interest in cell shape has been prompted by a recent flood of evidence that indicates that cell polarity is essential for the biology of motile cells. The uropod, a protrusion at the rear of amoeboid motile cells such as leukocytes, exemplifies the importance of morphology in cell motility. Remodelling of cell shape by uropod-interfering agents disturbs cell migration. But even though the mechanisms by which uropods regulate cell migration are beginning to emerge, their functional significance remains enigmatic.

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Figure 1: Mechanisms of uropod formation.
Figure 2: Biological functions of uropods.

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Acknowledgements

F.S.-M. is supported by grants SAF2008-02635, INSINET-0159/2006 from Comunidad de Madrid, RD06/0014-0030 from Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Enfermedades Cardiovasculares and FIPSE (Fundación para la Investigación y Prevención del SIDA en España) 36289/02. J.M.S is supported by grants PI070356, SAF2008-01339-E and Contrato-Investigador FIS (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain). Editorial support was provided by S. Bartlett. The authors thank A. Shaw, R. Gonzalez Amaro and M. Vicente Manzanares for critical reading of the manuscript. The Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Pro-CNIC Foundation.

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  1. Francisco Sánchez-Madrid and Juan M. Serrador are at the Departamento de Biología Vascular e Inflamación, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain.,

    Francisco Sánchez-Madrid & Juan M. Serrador

  2. Francisco Sánchez-Madrid is also at Servicio de Inmunología, Hospital Universitario de la Princesa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,

    Francisco Sánchez-Madrid

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Correspondence to Francisco Sánchez-Madrid.

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Sánchez-Madrid, F., Serrador, J. Bringing up the rear: defining the roles of the uropod. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 10, 353–359 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm2680

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