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Cell Migration

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Cell Migration

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Traction Microscopy Integrated with Microfluidics for Chemotactic Collective Migration

Traction Microscopy Integrated with Microfluidics for Chemotactic Collective Migration

Published on: October 13, 2019

Supracellular migration - beyond collective cell migration.

Adam Shellard¹, Roberto Mayor²

¹Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.

Journal of Cell Science

|April 17, 2019

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Collective cell migration involves groups of cells moving together. Supracellular migration, a key concept, views cell collectives as unified entities for efficient tissue-level movement.

Keywords:

Actomyosin cable Collective migration Force transmission Polarity Supracellular

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Area of Science:

Cell Biology
Developmental Biology
Tissue Engineering

Background:

Collective cell migration is crucial for development and disease.
Understanding how cell groups move efficiently is a fundamental biological question.
The concept of cell groups acting as a single 'supracell' has existed for over a century.

Purpose of the Study:

To define supracellular migration.
To review evidence supporting supracellular migration.
To propose supracellular entities as a framework for understanding collective cell movements.

Main Methods:

Literature review of collective cell migration studies.
Analysis of recent experimental evidence.
Conceptual framework development.

Main Results:

Supracellular migration is defined as collective cell migration at a scale larger than individual cells.
Evidence suggests cell collectives exhibit supracellular features.
Many complex collective movements can be explained by supracellular entity behavior.

Conclusions:

Supracellular migration offers a valuable perspective for understanding collective cell movements.
Viewing cell collectives as supracellular entities simplifies the analysis of complex migration patterns.
Further research into supracellular dynamics is warranted.