Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 17, 2026

Study of Cell Migration in Microfabricated Channels
Published on: February 21, 2014
Role of ion channels and transporters in cell migration
Albrecht Schwab1, Anke Fabian, Peter J Hanley
1Institut für Physiologie II, Münster, Germany. aschwab@uni-muenster.de
Abstract:
Cell motility is central to tissue homeostasis in health and disease, and there is hardly any cell in the body that is not motile at a given point in its life cycle. Important physiological processes intimately related to the ability of the respective cells to migrate include embryogenesis, immune defense, angiogenesis, and wound healing. On the other side, migration is associated with life-threatening pathologies such as tumor metastases and atherosclerosis. Research from the last ≈ 15 years revealed that ion channels and transporters are indispensable components of the cellular migration apparatus. After presenting general principles by which transport proteins affect cell migration, we will discuss systematically the role of channels and transporters involved in cell migration.
Related Concept Videos
Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration
Cell Migration
Cell Migration
Role of Myosin in Cell Migration
Myosin II is a hexamer comprising two heavy chains with globular heads and coiled-coil tails, two regulatory light chains, and two essential light chains. The ATPase sites on the myosin heads hydrolyze ATP, and the released phosphate generates the force for contraction. It is...
Ion Channels
Ion channels are specialized integral membrane proteins on the plasma membrane that allow specific...
Chemotaxis and Direction of Cell Migration

