Cytoskeletal Dynamics and Cell Migration Mechanisms

The cytoskeleton is a dynamic network of actin filaments, microtubules and intermediate filaments that organises cell shape, generates force and transmits mechanical signals. Directed migration arises from a coordinated cycle of protrusion at the leading edge, adhesion to the extracellular matrix, contractile tension and rear retraction. Actin polymerisation drives membrane protrusions such as lamellipodia and filopodia, while myosin motors generate contractile forces that pull the cell body forward. Microtubules serve as intracellular tracks for vesicle transport, deliver signalling molecules to adhesion sites and modulate Rho GTPase activity to regulate adhesion turnover. Intermediate filaments provide mechanical resilience and link cell–matrix adhesions to the nuclear envelope. Cross‐talk between filament systems, mediated by scaffold proteins and post‐translational modifications, ensures spatial and temporal coordination. This interplay governs cell polarity, directional persistence and adaptive responses during embryonic development, immune surveillance, wound healing and cancer invasion.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Structural and functional dissection of a spectraplakin protein has revealed how coordinated phosphorylation directs microtubule plus‐end targeting to focal adhesions, thereby promoting adhesion turnover and epidermal sheet movement. High‐resolution crystallography identified a key tyrosine on the actin‐binding domain whose phosphorylation by a focal adhesion kinase complex is essential for cytoskeletal cross‐linking. In vitro and in vivo assays demonstrate that this modification is indispensable for efficient adhesion dynamics and collective migration in skin, providing a molecular blueprint for how cytoskeletal linkers integrate kinase signalling to steer tissue‐scale cell movement.

Cytoskeletal Dynamics and Cell Migration Mechanisms publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in cytoskeletal dynamics and cell migration mechanisms across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Cytoskeleton: The intracellular network of protein filaments that shapes cells, enables force generation and organises intracellular transport.

Focal adhesion: Multiprotein complexes that link the actin cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix and transduce mechanical and biochemical signals.

Lamellipodium: A broad, sheet‐like protrusion at the leading edge of a migrating cell driven by actin polymerisation.

Rho GTPase: A family of small signalling proteins that regulate actin dynamics, myosin activity and adhesion turnover during migration.

Spectraplakin: A large cytoskeletal crosslinker that binds actin and microtubules, coordinating their interactions in migrating cells.

References

1. Dynamic Micropatterning Reveals Substrate‐Dependent Differences in the Geometric Control of Cell Polarization and Migration. Small Methods (2023).
2. The Cytoskeleton—A Complex Interacting Meshwork. Cells (2019).
3. Microtubules in cell migration. Essays in Biochemistry (2019).
4. In vivo epidermal migration requires focal adhesion targeting of ACF7. Nature Communications (2016).
5. Integrin and microtubule crosstalk in the regulation of cellular processes. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences (2018).