Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Cell Signaling Feedback Loops01:07

Cell Signaling Feedback Loops

Positive and negative feedback loops are crucial for regulating biological signaling systems. These feedback loops are processes that connect output signals to their inputs.
Negative feedback loops
Most signaling systems have negative feedback loops that can perform different functions such as output limiter, and adaptation.
Output limiter
Upon receiving an input signal, the cellular response rapidly increases until a threshold is reached. Beyond this threshold, a negative feedback loop...
Autocrine Signaling01:01

Autocrine Signaling

Autocrine signaling is one of the many signaling mechanisms that function inside multicellular organisms to carry out intercellular communication. In this type of signaling mechanism, the same cell that secretes an extracellular signaling molecule also expresses the receptors to bind and respond to that signaling molecule.
Autocrine Signaling in Macrophages
Under normal physiological conditions, autocrine signaling is essential for maintaining homeostasis. This process is well characterized in...
Autocrine Signaling01:01

Autocrine Signaling

Autocrine signaling is one of the many signaling mechanisms that function inside multicellular organisms to carry out intercellular communication. In this type of signaling mechanism, the same cell that secretes an extracellular signaling molecule also expresses the receptors to bind and respond to that signaling molecule.
Autocrine Signaling in Macrophages
Under normal physiological conditions, autocrine signaling is essential for maintaining homeostasis. This process is well characterized in...
Actin Polymerization and Cell Motility01:13

Actin 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.
Cell Motility through Blebbing01:16

Cell 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...
Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration01:32

Cytoskeletal 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...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Structure of the Leiomodin-2 Regulated Actin Filament Pointed End Assembly from Profilactin.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Leiomodin 2 functions as a processive pointed-end elongator of actin filaments.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Adjustable-Error-Based Adaptive Neural Network Tracking Control for Uncertain Nonlinear Systems.

IEEE transactions on cybernetics·2026
Same author

N-Terminal Actin-Binding Site of Lmod2 Promotes Controlled Pointed End Elongation.

Circulation research·2026
Same author

Cooperative control for FWID-EVs with active suspension under extreme conditions by using off-policy safe reinforcement learning.

ISA transactions·2026
Same author

Renaissance at the actin filament pointed end: Mechanisms of assembly, capping and depolymerization.

Current opinion in cell biology·2025
Same journal

Disentangling the response to lysosomal damage.

Journal of cell science·2026
Same journal

The force, form and function of the nucleus.

Journal of cell science·2026
Same journal

The nucleus-vacuole junction at a glance.

Journal of cell science·2026
Same journal

Loss of INPP5E affects photoreceptor outer segment membrane biogenesis in iPSC-derived human retinal organoids.

Journal of cell science·2026
Same journal

Brinker regulates reciprocal outcomes of BMP signal between stem cells and differentiating cells.

Journal of cell science·2026
Same journal

Primary cilium disassembly - from mechanisms to roles in physiology and disease.

Journal of cell science·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2026

Self-Assembly of Microtubule Tactoids
08:49

Self-Assembly of Microtubule Tactoids

Published on: June 23, 2022

Cellular self-organization by autocatalytic alignment feedback.

Michael Junkin1, Siu Ling Leung, Samantha Whitman

  • 1Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA.

Journal of Cell Science
|December 24, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Scientists discovered a physical mechanism for long-range cell alignment in developing muscle tissue. Differentiating myoblasts use fusion and rotational inertia to self-organize into aligned myofibers, crucial for tissue regeneration and development.

More Related Videos

Mapping the Emergent Spatial Organization of Mammalian Cells using Micropatterns and Quantitative Imaging
09:56

Mapping the Emergent Spatial Organization of Mammalian Cells using Micropatterns and Quantitative Imaging

Published on: April 30, 2019

In Vitro Reconstitution of Self-Organizing Protein Patterns on Supported Lipid Bilayers
08:10

In Vitro Reconstitution of Self-Organizing Protein Patterns on Supported Lipid Bilayers

Published on: July 28, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 26, 2026

Self-Assembly of Microtubule Tactoids
08:49

Self-Assembly of Microtubule Tactoids

Published on: June 23, 2022

Mapping the Emergent Spatial Organization of Mammalian Cells using Micropatterns and Quantitative Imaging
09:56

Mapping the Emergent Spatial Organization of Mammalian Cells using Micropatterns and Quantitative Imaging

Published on: April 30, 2019

In Vitro Reconstitution of Self-Organizing Protein Patterns on Supported Lipid Bilayers
08:10

In Vitro Reconstitution of Self-Organizing Protein Patterns on Supported Lipid Bilayers

Published on: July 28, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Regenerative Medicine
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Myoblasts are essential for skeletal muscle formation during embryogenesis and regeneration.
  • Proper muscle function requires long-range self-organization of myoblasts into aligned myofibers.
  • Understanding how cells process geometric information over long distances for self-organization is a key challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the physical mechanisms underlying long-range self-organization and alignment of myoblasts.
  • To identify how geometric cues guide muscle tissue development over distances exceeding individual cell size.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized plasma lithography micropatterning to create spatial cues for cell guidance.
  • Observed myoblast behavior under controlled conditions, including microfluidic disturbances.
  • Employed computational cellular automata analysis to model the self-organization process.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated a physical mechanism for long-range orientation information propagation from geometric boundaries.
  • Showed that long-range alignment is specific to differentiating myoblasts and dependent on myogenic fusion.
  • Identified that myogenic fusion and rotational inertia create a self-reinforcing feedback loop for alignment propagation.

Conclusions:

  • Autocatalytic alignment feedback through myogenic fusion enhances long-range propagation of orientation information.
  • This self-enhancement mechanism promotes ordered muscle alignment, reinforcing existing orientations and improving tissue organization.
  • The findings suggest a fundamental physical mechanism for long-range pattern formation in tissue morphogenesis.