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Related Concept Videos

Cell Migration01:09

Cell 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.
Cell Migration01:19

Cell 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.
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...
Chemotaxis and Direction of Cell Migration01:21

Chemotaxis and Direction of Cell Migration

Cells can detect chemical cues in their environment and reorganize the cytoskeleton to migrate toward them or away from them. This directional migration, called chemotaxis, is essential during embryogenesis and development, immune response, tissue repair and regeneration, and reproduction. These chemical cues can either attract or repel the cell's movement. For example, axon development is determined by a combination of chemoattractants and chemorepellents that direct the growing axon towards...
Role of Myosin in Cell Migration01:18

Role of Myosin in Cell Migration

Myosins are multimeric motor proteins involved in various cellular processes such as migration, adhesion, and proliferation. Myosin II is the most common type in animal cells, which binds and cross-links actin filaments.
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Cell Polarization by Rho Proteins01:21

Cell 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,...

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Creating Adhesive and Soluble Gradients for Imaging Cell Migration with Fluorescence Microscopy
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Published on: April 4, 2013

Calcium gradients underlying cell migration.

Chaoliang Wei1, Xianhua Wang, Ming Zheng

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Biotechnology, Center for Life Sciences, the Institute of Molecular Medicine, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.

Current Opinion in Cell Biology
|December 27, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cellular directional movement is orchestrated by intracellular calcium dynamics. Calcium flickers and gradients guide migrating cells, demonstrating a stochastic mechanism for cell steering.

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Calcium ions act as crucial second messengers in cellular signaling.
  • Migrating cells exhibit complex intracellular calcium dynamics, including microdomains known as 'calcium flickers'.
  • These dynamics involve gradients in flicker activity and background calcium concentration.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of intracellular calcium dynamics in cellular directional movement.
  • To elucidate how calcium gradients influence cell steering in response to external cues.

Main Methods:

  • Observation of intracellular calcium dynamics in motile fibroblasts.
  • Analysis of calcium flicker activity and concentration gradients.
  • Correlation of calcium dynamics with cell behavior under external guidance cues.

Main Results:

  • Motile fibroblasts display transient calcium microdomains ('calcium flickers') and distinct calcium gradients.
  • External guidance cues induce local flicker gradients at the leading edge of cells.
  • Asymmetry in flicker activity guides cell turning through a stochastic decision-making process.

Conclusions:

  • Spatiotemporally coordinated calcium gradients are fundamental to orchestrating complex cellular behaviors like directional movement.
  • Intracellular calcium dynamics provide a mechanism for cells to interpret and respond to environmental cues for navigation.