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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

In vitro Cell Migration and Invasion Assays
Published on: June 1, 2014
Regulation of the actin cytoskeleton in cancer cell migration and invasion
Hideki Yamaguchi1, John Condeelis
1Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. hyamaguc@aecom.yu.edu
Abstract:
Malignant cancer cells utilize their intrinsic migratory ability to invade adjacent tissues and the vasculature, and ultimately to metastasize. Cell migration is the sum of multi-step processes initiated by the formation of membrane protrusions in response to migratory and chemotactic stimuli. The driving force for membrane protrusion is localized polymerization of submembrane actin filaments. Recently, several studies revealed that molecules that link migratory signals to the actin cytoskeleton are upregulated in invasive and metastatic cancer cells. In this review, we summarize recent progress on molecular mechanisms of formation of invasive protrusions used by tumor cells, such as lamellipodia and invadopodia, with regard to the functions of key regulatory proteins of the actin cytoskeleton; WASP family proteins, Arp2/3 complex, LIM-kinase, cofilin, and cortactin.
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