Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026
05:50
Measuring Cell-Edge Protrusion Dynamics during Spreading using Live-Cell Microscopy
Published on: November 1, 2021
Cell polarity during motile processes: keeping on track with the exocyst complex
Maud Hertzog1, Philippe Chavrier
1Institut Curie, Research Center, Paris, France. maud.hertzog@curie.fr
The Biochemical Journal
|January 18, 2011
Summary
The exocyst complex is crucial for cell polarity, controlling membrane extension and cell movement. This review details its molecular organization and interactions, highlighting its role in cell migration and development.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Cell motility is vital for development and disease, requiring front-rear polarity.
- The exocyst complex is implicated in establishing and maintaining cell polarity.
- This complex regulates exocytic vesicle docking to plasma membranes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advances in the exocyst complex's molecular and structural organization.
- To elucidate the exocyst complex's role in cell polarity.
- To examine the function of the exocyst complex and its interacting partners in cell motility.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent advances in exocyst complex research.
- Analysis of molecular and structural data.
- Review of studies on exocyst complex interacting partners.
Main Results:
- The exocyst complex is essential for establishing cell polarity.
- It controls the docking and insertion of exocytic vesicles.
- Key interacting partners include Ral GTPase, atypical protein kinases C, and actin assembly proteins.
Conclusions:
- The exocyst complex plays a critical role in cell polarity.
- Its molecular organization and interactions are key to its function.
- It is involved in leading edge extension, growth cone formation, and cell movement.
More Related Videos
12:15The C. elegans Intestine As a Model for Intercellular Lumen Morphogenesis and In Vivo Polarized Membrane Biogenesis at the Single-cell Level: Labeling by Antibody Staining, RNAi Loss-of-function Analysis and Imaging
Published on: October 3, 2017
10:52Reconstitution of Basic Mitotic Spindles in Spherical Emulsion Droplets
Published on: August 13, 2016
Related Concept Videos
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...
01:16Cell Motility through Blebbing
Blebs are a type of membrane protrusion formed by the internal hydrostatic pressure of the cytoplasm. Blebs are observed in several cell types, including fibroblasts, immune cells, and single-celled organisms like the amoeba. The primary function of blebs is cell locomotion and apoptosis, but they are also found during necrosis and cell division. The life cycle of a bleb comprises an initiation phase followed by the expansion and retraction phases.
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...
01:18Polarity of the Cytoskeleton
The intrinsic polarity of cells can be primarily attributed to two factors- i) the asymmetric accumulation of mobile components such are regulatory molecules and subcellular components across the cell and ii) the orientation of polar cytoskeletal filaments that make up the cytoskeletal networks, specifically microfilaments, and microtubules arranged along the axis of polarity. Interactions between the cytoskeletal filaments are crucial for the establishment and maintenance of the polar nature...
01:13Actin Polymerization and Cell Motility
Actin is a family of globular proteins that are highly abundant in eukaryotic cells. It makes up approximately 1-5% of total cell protein concentration. Actin monomers polymerize to form a complex network of polarized filaments, the actin cytoskeleton, that plays a crucial role in many cellular processes, including cell motility, division, endocytosis, and metastasis of cancer cells.
Actin cytoskeleton dynamics can produce pushing, pulling, and resistance forces that help the cell to migrate.
Actin cytoskeleton dynamics can produce pushing, pulling, and resistance forces that help the cell to migrate.
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,...
01:24Microtubules in Cell Motility
Microtubules are thick hollow cylindrical proteins that help form the cytoskeleton. Microtubules have varied roles in the cell. These filaments help form cellular appendages like cilia and flagella, which are responsible for locomotion. The cilia arise from basal bodies, separated from the main body by a membrane-like structure forming the transition zone. This zone is the gate for the entry of lipids and proteins, creating a unique composition of lipids and proteins in the ciliary membrane and...