Moving in the right direction: How eukaryotic cells migrate along chemical gradients

• Published in: Seminars in cell & developmental biology Vol. 22; no. 8; pp. 834 - 841
• Main Authors: Cai, Huaqing, Devreotes, Peter N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2011
• Subjects: Animals; Cell Movement - drug effects; Chemotactic Factors - metabolism; Chemotactic Factors - pharmacology; Chemotaxis; Cytoskeleton - drug effects; Cytoskeleton - metabolism; Dictyostelium; Eukaryotic Cells - cytology; Eukaryotic Cells - drug effects; Humans; Intracellular Space - drug effects; Intracellular Space - metabolism; LEGI; Neutrophils; PI3K; PTEN; Signal Transduction - drug effects; TORC2; TORC2; Dictyostelium; PI3K; Neutrophils; PTEN; LEGI; Chemotaxis
• ISSN: 1084-9521; 1096-3634
• DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2011.07.020

► Many cells have the ability to grow or migrate towards chemical cues. ► Chemotaxis can be conceptually divided into the processes of motility, directional sensing, and polarity. ► A complex signaling network converts extracellular chemical gradients into localized intracellular signals to guide chemotaxis. ► A large portion of the signaling network appears to be excitable, and this excitability underlies the random motility of cells and is biased by chemoattractants in directed migration. Many cells have the ability to grow or migrate towards chemical cues. Oriented growth and movement require detection of the external chemical gradient, transduction of signals, and reorganization of the cytoskeleton. Recent studies in Dictyostelium discoideum and mammalian neutrophils have revealed a complex signaling network that enables cells to migrate in chemical gradients.