Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 17, 2025
06:37
Protrusion Force Microscopy: A Method to Quantify Forces Developed by Cell Protrusions
Published on: June 16, 2018
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The actin protrusion deforms the nucleus during invasion through basement membrane
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|March 31, 2025
Summary
In Caenorhabditis elegans, invading cells use their nucleus as a brace to balance forces during basement membrane invasion. This nuclear bracing mechanism is crucial for efficient cell invasion through extracellular matrix barriers.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Cell invasion through basement membrane (BM) is critical for development, immunity, and cancer metastasis.
- The mechanism balancing forces during 3D cell invasion, particularly preventing backward push of actin protrusions, remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how invading cells balance forces during basement membrane (BM) penetration.
- To elucidate the role of the nucleus in supporting actin protrusion during cell invasion.
Main Methods:
- Microscopy and observation of anchor cell (AC) invasion during Caenorhabditis elegans development.
- Analysis of actin protrusion dynamics and nuclear deformation in wild-type and mutant conditions.
- Perturbation of nucleus-cytoskeleton connections.
Main Results:
- The distal end of the actin protrusion in invading cells abuts and deforms the nucleus.
- Nuclear deformation correlates with invasion efficiency; reduced invasion shows diminished deformation.
- Disrupting molecular connections between cytoskeleton and nuclear envelope did not affect invasion or nuclear deformation.
Conclusions:
- The nucleus acts as a bracing point for the actin protrusion in invading cells, enabling forward force application.
- This nuclear bracing mechanism is essential for efficient 3D invasion through basement membranes.
- Nucleus-cytoskeleton connections are not required for this force-balancing function during invasion.
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