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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Visualizing Adhesion Formation in Cells by Means of Advanced Spinning Disk-Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: January 21, 2019
Asymmetric focal adhesion disassembly in motile cells
Joshua A Broussard1, Donna J Webb, Irina Kaverina
1Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232-8240, USA. joshua.a.broussard@vanderbilt.edu
Abstract:
Cell migration requires the integration and coordination of specific focal adhesion dynamics at the cell front, center and rear. In this review, we will present our understanding of the regulation of adhesion turnover and disassembly in various regions of the cell. Adhesion turnover involves a number of tyrosine kinases and phosphatases, most of which are engaged in FAK signaling pathways. Additionally, adhesions are regulated by tensile forces that depend on dynamic coupling with the actin cytoskeleton. The distribution of adhesion disassembly throughout a motile cell is likely coordinated by the asymmetry of the microtubule network. We present a model that suggests two stages of microtubule-driven adhesion disassembly: destabilization and detachment.
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