Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 28, 2025
10:53
Traction Microscopy Integrated with Microfluidics for Chemotactic Collective Migration
Published on: October 13, 2019
7.2K
Overriding native cell coordination enhances external programming of collective cell migration.
Gawoon Shim1, Danelle Devenport2, Daniel J Cohen3
1Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540.
Summary
External electrical stimulation can guide cell migration, but strong cell-cell adhesion hinders control. Weakening cell adhesion improves electrotaxis, enabling better control and faster wound healing in cell monolayers.
Area of Science:
- Cell biology
- Biophysics
- Tissue engineering
Background:
- Collective cell migration is crucial for development, healing, and cancer.
- External cues can program cell migration, but endogenous collective behaviors can interfere.
- Electrical stimulation (electrotaxis) is a potent external cue for cell migration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how endogenous cell-cell adhesion affects external control of collective cell migration.
- To determine if modulating cell adhesion can improve electrotactic control.
- To demonstrate the application of this principle for enhanced wound closure.
Main Methods:
- Using primary mouse skin monolayers with tunable cell-cell adhesion strength.
- Applying electrical stimulation (electrotaxis) as an external migratory cue.
- Modulating E-cadherin-dependent cell-cell adhesion using antibodies and calcium chelators.
Main Results:
- High cell-cell adhesion led to strong endogenous coordination, resisting electrotactic control and causing tissue damage.
- Reducing cell-cell adhesion significantly improved the controllability of cell migration via electrotaxis.
- Weakening cell adhesion facilitated accelerated wound closure in vitro.
Conclusions:
- Endogenous collectivity, particularly cell-cell adhesion, is a critical factor influencing external control of collective cell migration.
- Modulating cell-cell adhesion strength is a viable strategy to enhance the efficacy of external cues like electrotaxis.
- This approach has potential applications in regenerative medicine and controlling cell-based therapies.
Related Concept Videos
01:09Cell Migration
17.5K
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.
17.5K
01:19Cell Migration
5.5K
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.
5.5K
01:32Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration
5.1K
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...
5.1K
01:21Chemotaxis and Direction of Cell Migration
3.9K
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...
3.9K
01:16Cell Motility through Blebbing
2.2K
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
In multicellular...
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...
2.2K
02:36Cells Coordinate Growth and Proliferation
4.7K
Cell size is a significant factor impacting cellular design, function, and fitness. There exists some internal coordination by which cells double their masses before division, thus, achieving homeostasis. Coordination between cell growth and proliferation depends on the checkpoints in between cell cycle phases. Loss of coordination or failure in the checkpoint mechanism can drive the cell to uncontrolled growth and loss of cellular function. Like dividing cells that coordinate cellular growth,...
4.7K