On the move: endocytic trafficking in cell migration

Directed cell migration is a fundamental process underlying diverse physiological and pathophysiological phenomena ranging from wound healing and induction of immune responses to cancer metastasis. Recent advances reveal that endocytic trafficking contributes to cell migration in multiple ways. (1) At the level of chemokines and chemokine receptors: internalization of chemokines by scavenger receptors is essential for shaping chemotactic gradients in tissue, whereas endocytosis of chemokine receptors and their subsequent recycling is key for maintaining a high responsiveness of migrating cells. (2) At the level of integrin trafficking and focal adhesion dynamics: endosomal pathways do not only modulate adhesion by delivering integrins to their site of action, but also by supplying factors for focal adhesion disassembly. (3) At the level of extracellular matrix reorganization: endosomal transport contributes to tumor cell migration not only by targeting integrins to invadosomes but also by delivering membrane type 1 matrix metalloprotease to the leading edge facilitating proteolysis-dependent chemotaxis. Consequently, numerous endocytic and endosomal factors have been shown to modulate cell migration. In fact key modulators of endocytic trafficking turn out to be also key regulators of cell migration. This review will highlight the recent progress in unraveling the contribution of cellular trafficking pathways to cell migration.