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Cell Migration

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.

Cell Migration

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.

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Updated: May 11, 2026

Quantitative Analysis of Cell Edge Dynamics during Cell Spreading

Quantitative Analysis of Cell Edge Dynamics during Cell Spreading

Published on: May 22, 2021

Predicting how cells spread and migrate: focal adhesion size does matter.

Dong-Hwee Kim¹, Denis Wirtz

¹Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences - Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Cell Adhesion & Migration

|May 1, 2013

Summary

Cell migration, crucial for development and disease, is modulated by focal adhesions. Their clustering size impacts cell movement and spreading, revealing predictable biphasic changes linked to various cellular processes.

Keywords:

cell migration focal adhesions high-throughput phenotyping mechanosensing systems biology

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Area of Science:

Cell biology
Biophysics
Developmental biology

Background:

Cell migration is fundamental for tissue development and implicated in diseases like cancer metastasis and immune responses.
Mesenchymal cell migration relies on focal-adhesion proteins forming integrin-rich complexes.
The precise role of focal adhesion clustering extent in effective cell migration remains incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between focal adhesion size and cell migration efficiency.
To explore the influence of focal adhesions on cell spreading dynamics.
To further elucidate the mechanisms by which focal adhesions regulate cell motility.

Main Methods:

Depletion of major focal-adhesion proteins.
Modulation of matrix compliance.
Analysis of actin assembly, mitochondrial activity, and DNA recombination.
Observation of focal adhesion size and cell migration dynamics.

Main Results:

Depleting focal-adhesion proteins induced predictable, biphasic changes in focal adhesion size and cell migration.
Modulating matrix compliance, actin assembly, mitochondrial activity, and DNA recombination also affected focal adhesion size and migration in related ways.
Focal adhesion size exhibited a direct correlation with cell spreading and migration capabilities.

Conclusions:

Focal adhesion size is a critical determinant of cell migration efficiency.
Cell migration is a complex process influenced by the interplay of focal adhesions with cytoskeletal dynamics, matrix properties, and metabolic activity.
Understanding focal adhesion regulation offers potential therapeutic targets for diseases involving aberrant cell motility.