Cell migration: How it works, how new discovery may inform cancer research
Cells migrate by connecting their cytoskeleton — a network made up of proteins — to adhesion molecules which in turn get in contact with the surrounding connective tissue. In order to guide cells in a certain direction a signal from outside is needed, which leads then to cell polarization and coordinated mechanical movement. A fundamental question is how signaling pathways are regulated in time and space to facilitate directional migration of cells…