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Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Characterization at the Molecular Level using Robust Biochemical Approaches of a New Kinase Protein
Published on: June 30, 2019
ROCK1 and LIMK2 interact in spread but not blebbing cancer cells
Kerry F Shea1, Claire M Wells, Andrew P Garner
1Randall Division of Cell & Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Cancer cells migrating within a 3D microenvironment are able to adopt either a mesenchymal or amoeboid mode of migration. Amoeboid migration is characterised by membrane blebbing that is dependent on the Rho effectors, ROCK1/2. We identify LIMK2 as the preferred substrate for ROCK1 but find that LIMK2 did not induce membrane blebbing, suggesting that a LIMK2 pathway is not involved in amoeboid-mode migration. In support of this hypothesis, novel FRET data demonstrate a direct interaction between ROCK1 and LIMK2 in polarised but not blebbing cells. Our results point to a specific role for the ROCK1:LIMK2 pathway in mesenchymal-mode migration.
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