Cell migration articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    PI3 kinase is known to promote cell migration through its catalytic activity. Here, the authors show that the kinase also induces endocytosis through a non-catalytic pathway that actually decreases migratory speed and persistence, revealing a more subtle regulation of motility.

    • Hideaki T. Matsubayashi
    • , Jack Mountain
    •  & Takanari Inoue

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Focal adhesions are dynamic structures that link the cell to the extracellular matrix. Here, the authors report that focal adhesions contain tropomyosin-decorated actin filaments, and show evidence that suggests specific functions in adhesion dynamics and cell migration.

    • Reena Kumari
    • , Katharina Ven
    •  & Pekka Lappalainen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cells employ integrin-based adhesions with different molecular compositions to adhere to substrates. Here, the authors show that so-called “non-canonical” adhesions lacking focal adhesion components can convert to focal adhesions (and vice versa), through the selective exchange of components.

    • Fabian Lukas
    • , Claudia Matthaeus
    •  & Tanja Maritzen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are important contributors to anti-tumour immunity, but they often become dysfunctional in cancers. Here authors show that inhibited iNKT intra-tumour motility and iNKT cell exclusion from tumours by macrophages both contribute to their diminished function in cancer, and by therapeutic interference with the respective motility and iNKT-macrophage interaction pathways, their function can be restored.

    • Chenxi Tian
    • , Yu Wang
    •  & Li Bai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The clinical success of anti- αEβ7 antibody Etrolizumab for Crohn’s disease is less than what is expected based on proof-of-concept studies. Here authors show, by characterization of T cells from Etrolizumab-treated patients, in vitro functional assays and reanalysis of public single cell datasets on Etrolizumab-treated patients, that at high level of T cell activation, which characterises T cells in Crohn’s disease, E-Cadherin-αEβ7 interactions become resistant to Etrolizumab inhibition.

    • Maximilian Wiendl
    • , Mark Dedden
    •  & Sebastian Zundler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The presence of CD8+ T cells in the cytoplasm of biliary epithelial cells (BEC) has been associated with primary biliary cholangitis. Here, the authors demonstrate that CD8+ T cells invade BEC using a mechanism that is dependent on cytoskeletal rearrangements and E-cadherin:β-catenin interactions.

    • Scott P. Davies
    • , Vincenzo Ronca
    •  & Ye H. Oo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pores and channels within complex porous structures, such as the soil or the human gut, influence fluid flow and thus bacterial colonization. Here, Scheidweiler et al. study bacterial colonization of a model complex porous structure and show how the interactions between fluid flow, microscale structure, chemotaxis, and gradients of a quorum-sensing signaling molecule control the heterogenous accumulation of bacterial biomass.

    • David Scheidweiler
    • , Ankur Deep Bordoloi
    •  & Pietro de Anna

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The ability of T cells to migrate is a central component of their functionality and is known to require WNK1 kinase that is linked to the influx of ions into the cell. Here the authors show that T cell migration requires WNK1 mediated ion and water influx to swell the membrane of the leading edge and support actin polymerisation and forward motility.

    • Leonard L. de Boer
    • , Lesley Vanes
    •  & Victor L. J. Tybulewicz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Different membrane proteins dynamically polarize to organize signal transduction, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. Here, the authors show that a differential diffusion mediated partitioning process is sufficient to drive such spatiotemporal patterning of membrane-associated signaling proteins.

    • Tatsat Banerjee
    • , Satomi Matsuoka
    •  & Pablo A. Iglesias

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Stem cells can select among a wide array of fates. Here, the authors utilize spatial transcriptomics and three-dimensional neighborhood analysis to uncover that fate choices in planarian stem cells occur in a highly intermingled pattern.

    • Chanyoung Park
    • , Kwadwo E. Owusu-Boaitey
    •  & Peter W. Reddien

  • Article
    | Open Access

    TGFbeta is known to promote cancer metastasis through the promotion of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Here, the authors demonstrate that a TGFbeta induced circular RNA (circITGB6) promotes colorectal cancer metastasis via activation of the m6A reader protein, IGF2BP3, resulting in stabilization of an EMT-promoting gene, PDPN.

    • Ke Li
    • , Jiawei Guo
    •  & Yong Peng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis has been associated with aberrant expansion of KRT5-expressing basal cells. Here the authors show how changes in the ECM glycoprotein SPARC restrict the movement of KRT5+ cells, affecting their retention within fibrotic tissue.

    • Richard J. Hewitt
    • , Franz Puttur
    •  & Clare M. Lloyd

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Small cell lung cancers (SCLC) have often inactivating mutations in RB1. In this study, the authors demonstrate that RB1 loss mediates low expression of YAP1 in SCLC tumors ultimately promoting metastasis and they propose to use benzamide family HDAC inhibitors to induce YAP1 expression for prevention of metastases.

    • Zhengming Wu
    • , Junhui Su
    •  & Kun-Liang Guan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The activation and accumulation of lung fibroblasts resulting in aberrant deposition of extracellular matrix components is a pathogenic hallmark of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Here, the authors show that the formation of podosomes in lung fibroblasts stimulates extracellular matrix invasion in a mouse model of the disease, suggesting that pharmacological targeting of podosome formation or organization might be a therapeutic option.

    • Ilianna Barbayianni
    • , Paraskevi Kanellopoulou
    •  & Vassilis Aidinis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    After respiratory viral infection and in fibrotic lung disease, repair and remodeling processes particularly affect airway basal cell (BC) and alveolar epithelial cell populations. Here, using single cell transcriptomics and lineage tracing, the authors characterize this process and define roles for innate immune activation in the regulation of BC fate and alveolar remodeling.

    • Andrew K. Beppu
    • , Juanjuan Zhao
    •  & Barry R. Stripp

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lotto et al. delineate cell diversity and mechanisms during heart valve development using scRNA-seq. They identify distinct cell types and states, the emergence of epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity, and cell interactions that may govern this process.

    • Jeremy Lotto
    • , Rebecca Cullum
    •  & Pamela A. Hoodless

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Neutrophil ontogeny in zebrafish may be a continuum or consist of distinct lineages. Here the authors characterise neutrophils derived from rostral blood island and caudal haematopoietic tissue lineages and show differential gene expression and function in steady state and during wound healing.

    • Juan P. García-López
    • , Alexandre Grimaldi
    •  & Carmen G. Feijoo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) is a potent lipid chemoattractant driving leukocyte migration and neutrophil swarming, but methods for its real-time detection are lacking. Here, the authors develop GEM-LTB4, a genetically encoded fluorescent biosensor, and use it to visualize leukocyte-derived LTB4 gradients.

    • Szimonetta Xénia Tamás
    • , Benoit Thomas Roux
    •  & Balázs Enyedi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cell polarity is key to many processes in bacteria. By focusing on the roadblock domain protein MglC, the authors elucidate the mechanistic basis and design principles of a system that spatiotemporally regulates switchable front-rear polarity and directional migration.

    • Luís António Menezes Carreira
    • , Dobromir Szadkowski
    •  & Lotte Søgaard-Andersen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mutations that impact the function of the Arp2/3 complex are known to cause inborn errors of immunity. Here the authors describe biallelic null mutations in the ARPC5 subunit of Arp2/3 that disrupt actin function and cytokine signaling, causing infections, autoimmunity, inflammation and dysmorphisms.

    • Cristiane J. Nunes-Santos
    • , HyeSun Kuehn
    •  & Sergio D. Rosenzweig

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The WAVE regulatory complex activates Arp2/3 at the cell cortex and in membrane protrusions to generate persistent cell migration. Here authors show that PPP2R1A, a scaffold subunit of protein phosphatase 2, associates with an alternative form of the WAVE complex where WAVE, the subunit that activates Arp2/3, is replaced by NHSL1.

    • Yanan Wang
    • , Giovanni Chiappetta
    •  & Alexis M. Gautreau

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cancer cell motility is necessary for cell invasion and metastasis. Here, the authors identify CNK2 as a key mediator of cancer cell motility, linking extracellular stimuli via AXL signalling and downstream activation of ARF6 GTPase, resulting in increased metastasis in preclinical models.

    • Guillaume Serwe
    • , David Kachaner
    •  & Marc Therrien

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Adipocyte plasticity during injury repair is debated. Here, the authors find that injury causes temporary adipocyte migration, but without lineage conversion to myofibroblasts. Distinct migration patterns, transcriptomics and ECM depositions indicate that adipocytes, unlike fibroblasts, do not contribute to fibrotic scars.

    • Shruthi Kalgudde Gopal
    • , Ruoxuan Dai
    •  & Yuval Rinkevich

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Plasmodium sporozoites actively migrate in the dermis and enter blood vessels to induce infection. Here, Formaglio et al. show that Plasmodium sporozoites alternate global superdiffusive skin exploration and local subdiffusive blood vessel exploitation to find intravasation hotspots associated with pericytes, enter the blood circulation and start malaria infection.

    • Pauline Formaglio
    • , Marina E. Wosniack
    •  & Rogerio Amino

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Engineering protein biosensors that respond to biomolecules by triggering cellular responses has largely relied on binding rigid molecules. Here, the authors develop a computational strategy for designing signaling complexes between conformationally dynamic proteins and peptides.

    • Robert E. Jefferson
    • , Aurélien Oggier
    •  & Patrick Barth

  • Article
    | Open Access

    YAP signaling has been established as a mechanotransductive pathway in multiple contexts, but its developmental roles are still being explored. Here they show that YAP signaling sustains intracellular tension to direct cell migration during embryonic axis assembly.

    • Ana Sousa-Ortega
    • , Javier Vázquez-Marín
    •  & Juan R. Martínez-Morales

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alternative splicing crucially affects various biological processes, however, its function in heart development is largely unknown. Here, the authors show an essential role of alternative splicing factor PTBP1 in ventricular chamber development.

    • Hongyu Liu
    • , Ran Duan
    •  & Yi-Han Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The understanding of molecular mechanisms in different subtypes of head and neck cancer (HNC) will define subtype-specific treatment options. Here the authors show that PI3K-phospho-YBX1 axis promotes tumour growth in basal subtype of HNC, while unphosphorylated YBX1 acts as a suppressor of metastasis in the mesenchymal subtype with inactive PI3K signalling.

    • Yuchen Bai
    • , Carolin Gotz
    •  & Charbel Darido

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The intermediate states of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancer require further molecular characterisation. Here, the authors develop a method to evaluate EMT transformation and trajectories in cancer transcriptomics data, characterising EMT macro-states, including a hybrid state, and EMT hallmarks.

    • Guidantonio Malagoli Tagliazucchi
    • , Anna J. Wiecek
    •  & Maria Secrier

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a complex process regulated at multiple molecular levels. Here, the authors implement an analytic framework - PAMAF - to integrate data from twelve distinct omics modalities, which they use to understand the molecular changes and regulation during EMT in vitro.

    • Indranil Paul
    • , Dante Bolzan
    •  & Andrew Emili

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The medial ganglionic eminence produces both interneurons and projection neurons, though how this fate choice is made is not well established. Here they show that St18 regulates migration and morphology of MGE neurons, inducing projection neuron fates.

    • Luke F. Nunnelly
    • , Melissa Campbell
    •  & Edmund Au

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cell migration regulates diverse (patho)physiological processes, including cancer metastasis. Here the authors show that the chloride ion channel SWELL1 and the ion exchanger NHE1 are preferentially enriched at the trailing and leading edges, respectively, of migrating cells and regulate cell volume to propel confined cells, favouring breast cancer cell extravasation and metastasis.

    • Yuqi Zhang
    • , Yizeng Li
    •  & Konstantinos Konstantopoulos

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Previous studies suggested a chemokine receptor governed gradient of Rac1 activity is essential for collective guidance of Drosophila border cells. Here, Zhou et al. report that two distinct Rac1 pools at protrusions and cables, not Rac1 activity gradient, integrate the direction and coordination for collective guidance.

    • Sijia Zhou
    • , Peng Li
    •  & Xiaobo Wang

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