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Review
. 2013 Oct;25(5):642-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2013.06.004. Epub 2013 Jul 10.

Dimensions in cell migration

Affiliations
Review

Dimensions in cell migration

Andrew D Doyle et al. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2013 Oct.

Abstract

The importance of cell migration for both normal physiological functions and disease processes has been clear for the past 50 years. Although investigations of two-dimensional (2D) migration in regular tissue culture have elucidated many important molecular mechanisms, recent evidence suggests that cell migration depends profoundly on the dimensionality of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Here we review a number of evolving concepts revealed when cell migration is examined in different dimensions.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Dimensional regulation of cell migration
Illustration of the numerous unique ECM-dependent regulators (center column) associated with 2D, 1D, and 3D migration. These microenvironmental regulators in turn influence intracellular regulatory pathways that govern the migratory phenotype (right panel) and determine how cell migration proceeds.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Mode of cellular protrusion as determined by ECM dimensionality
A) NIH/3T3 fibroblast demonstrating a classic hand-mirror morphology on a 2D substrate; red is phalloidin staining and green shows activated β1 integrin adhesions. B) eGFP-VASP (left) and phase contrast (right) image of a NIH/3T3 fibroblast migrating along a 1D micropatterned line. C) NIH/3T3 fibroblast within a 3D-CDM showing staining for F-actin (phalloidin, cyan), paxillin (yellow), and fibronectin (magenta). D). eGFP-actin expressed in a human foreskin fibroblast illustrating lamellipodia in non-linear 3D collagen. E) Lobopodia (LO) and lateral blebs (B) shown by eGFP-actin as a human foreskin fibroblast migrates through a linear-elastic 3D-CDM. Scale bars: 10 μm.

References

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