Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 9, 2026
09:23
Impedance-based Real-time Measurement of Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion
Published on: April 2, 2020
Reciprocal control of cell proliferation and migration
Alina De Donatis1, Francesco Ranaldi, Paolo Cirri
1Dipartimento di Scienze Biochimiche, Università di Firenze, Viale Morgagni 50, 50134 Firenze, Italy. paolo.cirri@unifi.it.
Cell Communication and Signaling : CCS
|September 9, 2010
Summary
Cellular phenotypes are maintained by microenvironment stability. Changes in soluble cytokines and extracellular matrix interactions can trigger cell plasticity, impacting wound healing, angiogenesis, and cancer progression.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Tissue Engineering
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Cellular quiescence in adult tissues relies on stable microenvironmental conditions, including cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions, and soluble factor concentrations.
- Physiological and pathological states can disrupt this balance, leading to cellular phenotypic responses driven by factors like cytokine concentration and cell plasticity.
- Wound healing, vasculogenesis, angiogenesis, cancer outgrowth, and metastasis exemplify conditions where cellular motility and proliferation are critical.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the molecular mechanisms governing the initiation and switching of cellular phenotypic outcomes.
- To explore how changes in the extracellular environment's symmetry influence these cellular responses.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on molecular mechanisms.
- Analysis of cellular responses to microenvironmental cues.
Main Results:
- Cellular phenotype is dynamically regulated by the microenvironment.
- Cytokine concentration and cell plasticity are key determinants of cellular response.
- Extracellular matrix interactions play a crucial role in maintaining or altering cellular states.
Conclusions:
- The interplay between the microenvironment and cellular plasticity dictates cell fate.
- Understanding these mechanisms is vital for studying processes like wound repair and cancer progression.
- Further research into molecular pathways controlling phenotypic switching can inform therapeutic strategies.
Related Concept Videos
01:19Cell Migration
Cell migration is a process by which the cells move from one location to another, playing an essential role in embryological development, repair and regeneration, immune response, and metastasis. Cells migrate in response to chemical or mechanical signals generated by specific organs or tissues. The overall mechanism includes three steps - polarization, protrusion, and release. Polarization involves the formation of a distinct cell front and rear, which determines the direction of movement.
01:09Cell Migration
Cell migration, the process by which cells move from one location to another, is essential for the proper development and viability of organisms throughout their life. When cells are not able to migrate properly to their ordained locations, various disorders may occur. For example, disruption in cell migration causes chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis.
01:32Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration
A migrating cell changes its shape during the cyclic events of attachment and detachment from the substratum and repositions the cell organelles correspondingly. These complex events are orchestrated by the dynamic cytoskeletal network comprising actin filaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules. Cytoskeletal crosstalk — the direct and indirect communication between the different components — is crucial for this coordination. Direct communication involves various linker proteins that...
01:21Cell Polarization by Rho Proteins
Cell polarity is the asymmetric distribution of cellular and membrane components, making one side of the cell different from the other. This polarity is essential to many processes such as embryogenesis, axon migration, glucose transport across epithelial cells, and directional cell migration. A migrating cell responds to intracellular or extracellular signals via molecular cascades that reorganize the actin cytoskeleton to establish this polarity. In these cells, the Rho family proteins Cdc42,...
02:36Cells Coordinate Growth and Proliferation
Cell size is a significant factor impacting cellular design, function, and fitness. There exists some internal coordination by which cells double their masses before division, thus, achieving homeostasis. Coordination between cell growth and proliferation depends on the checkpoints in between cell cycle phases. Loss of coordination or failure in the checkpoint mechanism can drive the cell to uncontrolled growth and loss of cellular function. Like dividing cells that coordinate cellular growth,...
02:36Cells Coordinate Growth and Proliferation
Cell size is a significant factor impacting cellular design, function, and fitness. There exists some internal coordination by which cells double their masses before division, thus, achieving homeostasis. Coordination between cell growth and proliferation depends on the checkpoints in between cell cycle phases. Loss of coordination or failure in the checkpoint mechanism can drive the cell to uncontrolled growth and loss of cellular function. Like dividing cells that coordinate cellular growth,...