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Related Concept Videos

Cell Migration01:09

Cell Migration

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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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Cell Migration01:19

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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.
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Cells migrating in response to external stimuli form lamellipodia, which are thin membrane protrusions supported by a mesh of linked, branched, or unbranched actin filaments. These actin filaments interact with myosin motor proteins, creating the dynamic actomyosin complex within the cytoskeleton. Contractility, or the ability to generate contractile stress, is inherent to the actomyosin complex. It helps cells detect the stiffness of the surrounding ECM and exert contractile force for...
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The protrusion of the cell surface is an initial step for several cellular processes, including cell migration, phagocytosis, and neurite outgrowth. These membrane protrusions are a result of cytoskeletal rearrangement. The most  widely observed cell protrusions include lamellipodia, pseudopodia, filopodia, microvilli, invadopodia, and podosomes. These protrusions can be of two types — static or dynamic.
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Sometimes waves do not seem to move; rather, they just vibrate in place. Unmoving waves can be seen on the surface of a glass of milk kept in a refrigerator, which is one example of standing waves. Vibrations from the refrigerator motor create waves on the milk that oscillate up and down but do not seem to move across the surface. These waves are formed or created by the superposition of two or more identical moving waves in opposite directions. The waves move through each other, with their...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 11, 2025

Measuring Cell-Edge Protrusion Dynamics during Spreading using Live-Cell Microscopy
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Traveling and standing waves mediate pattern formation in cellular protrusions.

Sayak Bhattacharya1, Tatsat Banerjee2,3, Yuchuan Miao3,4

  • 1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.

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Summary

Cell migration involves excitable waves that can transform from traveling to standing patterns. This newly identified mechanism explains cell motility and pattern formation.

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Theoretical Biology

Background:

  • Amoeboid cell migration relies on dynamic protrusions, exhibiting excitable behaviors.
  • Theoretical models suggest traveling and standing waves can coexist in excitable systems.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate the direct transformation of traveling waves into standing waves in cell protrusions.
  • To establish conditions for the stability of this wave transformation.
  • To explore its implications for cell motility and pattern formation.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical modeling of excitable systems.
  • Experimental observation of cell cortex dynamics in Dictyostelium and mammalian mutant strains.

Main Results:

  • Direct conversion of traveling waves to standing waves was demonstrated.
  • Conditions for stable wave transformation were established without altering diffusion.
  • A spectrum of cell protrusive phenotypes, including pseudopodia and filopodia, were linked to wave transitions.

Conclusions:

  • A novel pattern formation mechanism involving traveling waves stopping and converting to standing waves governs cell motility.
  • This mechanism allows cells to switch between excitability and bistability, influencing protrusive phenotypes.