Cell migration articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mutations inGPSM2cause a rare disease characterized by deafness and brain abnormalities. Here the authors show that Gpsm2 forms a molecular complex with a heterotrimeric G-protein subunit, whirlin and a myosin motor to regulate actin dynamics in neurons and auditory hair cell stereocilia.

    • Stephanie A. Mauriac
    • , Yeri E. Hien
    •  & Mireille Montcouquiol

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Actin polymerization in lamellipodia of cells is regulated by the Arp2/3 complex and FMNL family formins. Here the authors show that both FMNL2 and FMNL3 contribute to lamellipodium protrusion and structure, and abolishing FMNL2/3 reduces protrusion force generation and migration, without affecting Arp2/3 incorporation.

    • Frieda Kage
    • , Moritz Winterhoff
    •  & Klemens Rottner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)-negative cells, which are enriched during endocrine therapy, are associated with metastatic relapse of breast cancer. Here the authors show that ERα inhibits breast cancer metastasis and suggest that ERα suppresses the amoeboid-like migration of breast cancer cells by upregulating vinculin.

    • Yuan Gao
    • , Zhaowei Wang
    •  & Yingqi Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Neuronal migration is vital for neuronal circuit morphogenesis and is thought to rely on microtubule-actomyosin crosstalk. Here, the authors use super-resolution imaging and the drebrin microtubule-actin crosslinking protein to show that microtubule-actomyosin coupling controls the direction of centrosome and somal motility.

    • Niraj Trivedi
    • , Daniel R. Stabley
    •  & David J. Solecki

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The secretome from cancer and stromal cells contributes to the creation of a microenvironment, which in turn contributes to invasion and angiogenesis. Here, the authors compare the secretomes of immortalized normal fibroblasts and cancer-derived fibroblast and identify CLIC3 as a driver of cancer progression.

    • Juan R. Hernandez-Fernaud
    • , Elena Ruengeler
    •  & Sara Zanivan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fluid frictional forces around cancer cells influence chemokine production and delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs but it is unclear if they directly impact tumour biology through biomechanical effects. Here, the authors show that wall shear stress stimulates cancer cell migration through a ROCK–LIMK–YAP axis.

    • Hyun Jung Lee
    • , Miguel F. Diaz
    •  & Pamela L. Wenzel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The role of force in activating integrin cell adhesion receptors is not known. Here the authors develop fluorescent tension sensors for αL and β2 integrins and show that in migrating T cells force is transduced across the β2 integrin, and that this correlates with an active conformational state.

    • Pontus Nordenfelt
    • , Hunter L. Elliott
    •  & Timothy A. Springer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Podosomes are adhesive cytoskeletal structures found in several cell types, but whether or how they are interconnected is not known. Here the authors demonstrate mesoscale connectivity of podosome clusters by imaging directional flow patterns of podosome components vinculin, talin and F-actin.

    • Marjolein B. M. Meddens
    • , Elvis Pandzic
    •  & Alessandra Cambi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    MicroRNAs represent potential therapeutic targets to control metastasis progression. Here the authors show that miR-96 and miR-182 regulate invasion via Palladin and demonstrate that local delivery of miR-96 and miR-182 may serve as a potential anti-metastatic drug in breast cancer.

    • Avital Gilam
    • , João Conde
    •  & Noam Shomron

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although focal adhesions (FAs) and microtubules (MTs) are known to associate, the underlying regulation of this dynamic interaction is not understood. Here the authors discover that the CRL3KLHL21E3 ubiquitin ligase localises to FAs and ubiquitinates the MT plus-tip binding protein EB1, thereby promoting MT and FA dynamics and cell migration.

    • Thibault Courtheoux
    • , Radoslav I. Enchev
    •  & Matthias Peter

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Endothelial to mesenchymal transition (EndMT) is a crucial developmental process that also plays a role in the pathogenesis of some diseases. Here the authors show that EndMT contributes to the development of atherosclerosis in mice and humans, and is associated with complex human plaques that may be prone to rupture.

    • Solene M. Evrard
    • , Laura Lecce
    •  & Jason C. Kovacic

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lymphotoxin regulates lymphoid organ architecture and adhesion molecules involved in lymphocyte trafficking. Here the authors show that lymphotoxin produced by regulatory T cells promotes their migration to the draining lymph nodes by engaging its cognate receptor on lymphatic endothelial cells.

    • C. Colin Brinkman
    • , Daiki Iwami
    •  & Jonathan S. Bromberg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Endothelial cells align in the direction of flow in response to shear stress. Here the authors describe a zebrafish model for visualization of endothelial polarization and demonstrate that endothelial cell alignment depends on blood flow and Apelin signalling.

    • Hyouk-Bum Kwon
    • , Shengpeng Wang
    •  & Didier Y. R. Stainier

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Migrating cells display dynamic morphologies that are coordinated by signalling pathways. Here the authors identify a lateral signalling pathway, comprised of the planar cell polarity protein Pk1 and Arhgap21/23, that regulates fluctuations in cell shape during productive cell migration.

    • Liang Zhang
    • , Valbona Luga
    •  & Jeffrey L. Wrana

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The spectraplakin protein ACF7 binds to actin at focal adhesions and targets microtubule plus ends to focal adhesions, promoting their disassembly. Here the authors reveal that ACF7 is phosphorylated by Src/FAK, and this regulates actin binding and focal adhesion dynamics in vitro and in vivo.

    • Jiping Yue
    • , Yao Zhang
    •  & Xiaoyang Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ras signalling through PI3K kinase has an important role in tumour initiation and progression. Here, the authors show that the interaction of Ras with PI3-Kinase p110α and the subsequent activation of Rac-GTPase impairs cell -cell interaction by blocking the downstream Reelin/E-cadherin, thus resulting in cell migration.

    • Esther Castellano
    • , Miriam Molina-Arcas
    •  & Julian Downward

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Plasmodium knowlesi infects macaques and can cause malaria in humans. Here, Dankwa et al. show that the absence of a sialic-acid component on the surface of macaque red blood cells (RBCs) limits infection of human RBCs with P. knowlesi, but the parasite can adapt to invade human RBCs by using alternative pathways.

    • Selasi Dankwa
    • , Caeul Lim
    •  & Manoj T. Duraisingh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Planar in vitromodels for wound closure stress the role of lamellipodial protrusions and purse-string contraction. Here the authors develop a 3D biomimetic model for tissue repair and show a mode of stromal closure that relies on whole tissue deformations, cell migration and matrix deposition.

    • Mahmut Selman Sakar
    • , Jeroen Eyckmans
    •  & Christopher S. Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cell migration through micrometric constraints is limited by low deformability of the nucleus. Here the authors show that in dendritic cells a perinuclear actin network nucleated by Arp2/3 increases nuclear deformation and allows the cells to pass through narrow constrictions, likely by rupturing the nuclear lamina.

    • Hawa-Racine Thiam
    • , Pablo Vargas
    •  & Matthieu Piel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cadherins are typically involved in cell-cell adhesion, however cadherin-11 promotes cell migration through an undefined mechanism. Langhe et al.show that cadherin-11 mediates adhesion to the cell matrix at focal adhesions through interaction with syndecan-4.

    • Rahul P. Langhe
    • , Tetyana Gudzenko
    •  & Jubin Kashef

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The small GTPase Rac1 regulates various cellular processes, including cell migration. However, Rac1 can have opposing migratory effects. Here the authors show that two guanine nucleotide exchange factors, Tiam1 and P-Rex1, differentially regulate the Rac1 interactome to determine the downstream phenotype.

    • Hadir Marei
    • , Alejandro Carpy
    •  & Angeliki Malliri

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The histone H2A variants are involved in DNA repair, gene regulation and cancer development. In this study, the authors unravel an additional role for H2A.X in the regulation of mesenchymal-like traits and activation of the EMT transcription factors, Slug and ZEB1, in colon cancer cells.

    • Urbain Weyemi
    • , Christophe E. Redon
    •  & William M. Bonner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    GABRA3, a subunit of the GABA receptor, is often highly expressed in brain metastasis and breast cancers. Here, the authors demonstrated that GABRA3 activates AKT to promote breast cancer cell invasion and that the A-to-I edited form of GABRA3, specifically expressed in noninvasive breast cancers, can suppress the function of wild type GABRA3.

    • Kiranmai Gumireddy
    • , Anping Li
    •  & Qihong Huang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Diatoms often dominate production in aquatic communities, but the amount of available dissolved silicic acid (dSi) limits their growth. Here, Bondoc et al., show that diatoms perceive gradients in dSi, and can increase the encounter with this resource by chemotaxis toward high concentrations under resource-limited conditions.

    • Karen Grace V. Bondoc
    • , Jan Heuschele
    •  & Georg Pohnert

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How embryonic melanoblast behaviour influences adult pigmentation patterns and causes patterning defects is unclear. Here, Mort et al. construct a stochastic model parameterised experimentally to show that melanoblast migration is undirected and that reduced proliferation causes patterning defects.

    • Richard L. Mort
    • , Robert J. H. Ross
    •  & Christian A. Yates

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanosensitive proteins talin and vinculin mediate the linkage between integrin-bound extracellular matrix and the actin cytoskeleton. Here the authors dissect distinct roles for two actin-binding sites within talin on adhesion complex assembly and maturation, which are regulated by vinculin binding to talin.

    • Paul Atherton
    • , Ben Stutchbury
    •  & Christoph Ballestrem

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus invades and kills other bacteria, but it is unclear how it avoids degradation of its own cell wall. Here the authors identify the B. bacteriovorusprotein Bd3460 as an endopeptidase inhibitor that prevents hydrolysis of the predator’s peptidoglycan during invasion of prey.

    • Carey Lambert
    • , Ian T. Cadby
    •  & Andrew L. Lovering

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Formins promote actin filament polymerization and capping protein blocks polymerization; both proteins are thought to exclude each other from barbed ends. Here the authors show that both proteins can simultaneously bind barbed ends in a ternary complex while enhancing each other's dissociation from the barbed end.

    • Shashank Shekhar
    • , Mikael Kerleau
    •  & Marie-France Carlier

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Microscopy techniques used to study the movement of swimming microbes are limited to two dimensions or require sophisticated devices. Here, Taute et al. present a simple method for high-throughput 3D tracking of bacteria using standard phase contrast microscopy.

    • K.M. Taute
    • , S. Gude
    •  & T.S. Shimizu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The inverted-BAR domain protein IRSp53 associates with the inner leaflet of tubular membranes such as filopodia. Here, Prévostet al. demonstrate that the I-BAR domain of IRSp53 senses negative membrane curvature, and undergoes phase separation which may aid its clustering upon filopodia generation.

    • Coline Prévost
    • , Hongxia Zhao
    •  & Patricia Bassereau

  • Article |

    How can you increase the success of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation? In mice, Rolls et al. identify sleep in the donor as an important factor, finding that less sleep leads to 50% lower HSC engraftment, via miR-19b and suppressor of cytokine signaling genes, which prevent HSC homing.

    • Asya Rolls
    • , Wendy W. Pang
    •  & Luis de Lecea

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Signalling is often fine-tuned by the exo-endocytic cycling of cell surface receptors. Here, the authors show that the endocytic adaptor protein Stonin1 is important for the endocytosis of NG2, a co-receptor for extracellular matrix and growth factors, and that loss of Stonin1 alters cell motility.

    • Fabian Feutlinske
    • , Marietta Browarski
    •  & Tanja Maritzen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The leading edge of migrating cells contains activated integrins associated with growing actin filaments that form ‘sticky fingers’ to guide cell migration. Here, the authors detect a complex of MRL proteins, talin and activated integrins in lamellipodia and filopodia in living cells, comprising the tips of the ‘sticky fingers’.

    • Frederic Lagarrigue
    • , Praju Vikas Anekal
    •  & Mark H. Ginsberg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Amoeboid motility is driven by actomyosin-based contraction and exploits differences in the mechanical properties of the cortical cytoskeleton. Here the authors discover that mDia1-like formin A is responsible for generating a subset of actin filaments at the rear of Dictyosteliumthat suppresses lateral protrusions and blebbing during 2D-confined migration.

    • Nagendran Ramalingam
    • , Christof Franke
    •  & Jan Faix

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The signals that pattern the sympathetic nervous system are not fully understood. Here the authors show that the dorsal migration of the primary sympathetic ganglia in chick embryos is orchestrated by BDNF/TrkB signalling and requires contact with preganglionic axons.

    • Jennifer C. Kasemeier-Kulesa
    • , Jason A. Morrison
    •  & Paul M. Kulesa

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sperm use external cues to find the egg using ill-defined principles. Here the authors use holographic microscopy and optochemical tools to study sperm swimming in light-sculpted chemical 3D landscapes; they show that sperm translate the temporal stimulation pattern into multiple swimming behaviours to orient deterministically in a gradient.

    • Jan F. Jikeli
    • , Luis Alvarez
    •  & U. Benjamin Kaupp

Browse broader subjects

Browse narrower subjects

Browse Cell migration across other nature.com journals