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Related Concept Videos

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.
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.
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...
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...
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
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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.

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Traction Microscopy Integrated with Microfluidics for Chemotactic Collective Migration
10:53

Traction Microscopy Integrated with Microfluidics for Chemotactic Collective Migration

Published on: October 13, 2019

Collective migration and cell jamming.

Monirosadat Sadati1, Nader Taheri Qazvini, Ramaswamy Krishnan

  • 1School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, United States.

Differentiation; Research in Biological Diversity
|June 25, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Cellular collectives may not follow linear causality. Instead, cell jamming offers a unifying framework to understand how fluctuations and non-local events drive collective cell migration.

Keywords:
CooperativityGlass transitionHeterogeneityKinetic arrest

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Cell Biology
  • Mechanobiology

Background:

  • Traditional models assume linear causality where local cell forces drive migration.
  • These models do not fully explain spontaneous fluctuations or non-local cooperative events.
  • Existing factors like crowding and adhesion were considered independently.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a novel physical picture for collective cell migration.
  • To introduce cell jamming as a unifying concept for diverse cellular behaviors.
  • To explain the role of fluctuations and non-local events in collective cell dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual synthesis of existing evidence.
  • Application of the cell jamming framework.
  • Integration of factors including cellular crowding, adhesion, contractility, and deformability.

Main Results:

  • Suggests a non-linear causality in mechanical events within cellular collectives.
  • Highlights fluctuations as potentially essential mechanistic features, not just noise.
  • Demonstrates how cell jamming integrates previously disparate factors.

Conclusions:

  • Cell jamming provides a unifying concept for collective cell migration.
  • Non-local events and fluctuations are key to understanding cellular collectives.
  • This framework reconciles diverse cellular behaviors under a single mechanical principle.