Metastatic movements in 3-DOctober 06, 2008Caswell et al.report in the Journal of Cell Biology how the altered behavior of integrins can prompt metastatic movement in tumor cells. On 2D surfaces, cells may migrate randomly, or be strongly unidirectional. Integrins, which link the cell to the extracellular matrix, are known to influence the mode of migration, but exactly how has been unclear. Recent work has suggested that an integrin called a5b1 drives random movement, while an integrin called avb3 has been associated with unidirectional migration-the balance of activity between the two determining the type of movement. To further explore the contribution of a5b1 to random migration, the authors thus blocked avb3. The treated cells changed their mode of migration from unidirectional to random, and their ability to invade 3D gels increased. The changed behavior correlated with an increase in trafficking of a5b1 from intracellular compartments to anterior membrane protrusions. But this increase in trafficking did not significantly alter a5b1's contribution to cell adhesion-the ease with which cells were dislodged from a spinning disk increased as the amount of avb3 was reduced, but was not correlated with any change in a5b1. This suggested that the cells' increased invasive ability was due to alteration in some other property. That property turned out to be activation of a proinvasive pathway headed by a kinase called Akt. In avb3-blocked cells, a5b1 became associated with epidermal growth factor receptor 1 (EGFR1), which increased EGFR1's abundance at the membrane protrusions, as well as its autophosphorylation. Because EGFR1 is an activator of the Akt pathway, hey presto, the cells took on some new moves. Rockefeller University Press |
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| Related Integrins Current Events and Integrins News Articles Stem cell therapy may offer hope for acute lung injury Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have shown that adult stem cells from bone marrow can prevent acute lung injury in a mouse model of the disease. Alternatively spliced tissue factor identified as promising new biomarker for aggressive cancers A recently discovered form of the protein that triggers blood clotting may play a key role in the molecular mechanisms leading to the growth of certain metastatic cancers, according to new research reported by an international team of scientists. Research yields potential target for cancer, wound healing and fibrosis Research conducted by Allison Berrier, PhD, Assistant Professor of Oral and Craniofacial Biology at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Dentistry, and colleagues, provides insights that may help scientists design novel approaches to control wound healing and fight diseases such as cancer and fibrosis. Protein helps immune cells to divide and conquer Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a key protein that is required for immune cells called B lymphocytes to divide and replicate themselves. The rapid generation of large numbers of these immune cells is critical to the body's antibody defense mechanism. Researchers block immune cell rush behind deadly sepsis Researchers have found a way to block the ability of white blood cells to sprint toward the sites of infection when such speed worsens the damage done by sepsis, the often fatal, whole-body bacterial infection, according to a study published today in the journal Blood. Researchers coat titanium with polymer to improve integration of joint replacements Research at the Georgia Institute of Technology shows that coating a titanium implant with a new biologically inspired material enhances tissue healing, improves bone growth around the implant and strengthens the attachment and integration of the implant to the bone. Integrins as receptors give insight into rotavirus and diarrhea Eleven years ago, Dr. Mary Estes of Baylor College of Medicine and her colleagues discovered the first viral enterotoxin, rotavirus NSP4, a toxic protein that affects the intestines, causing diarrhea. Cell surface receptors are all 'talk' in T cell stimulation Understanding the mechanisms that drive healthy immune responses is important when it comes to combating autoimmune diseases, which occur when cells that should attack invading organisms turn on the body instead. Researchers find new way to block destructive rush of immune cells Researchers have found a way to selectively block the ability of white blood cells to "crawl" toward the sites of injury and infection when such mobility drives disease, according to a study published today in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. UCSD researchers create roadmap to integrin activation Calling it an important technical advance in the study of the complex receptors and pathways of the body's cellular system, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have reconstructed the signaling pathways that impact activation of a receptor that is critical to the control of bleeding and to the thrombosis that occurs in heart attacks and strokes. More Integrins Current Events and Integrins News Articles |
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