Cell migration articles from across Nature Portfolio

Bone marrow ssDNA, specifically EHBP1-ssDNA, drives prostate cancer bone metastasis via integrin α6-FAK signaling, and Defactinib blocks this pathway.

In birds, primordial germ cells exit blood vessels during development using bleb-driven movements similar to metastatic cancer cells. Comparison with cancer cells shows that this shared physical mechanism is controlled by distinct calcium signaling pathways across cell types.

The authors systematically map factors controlling trafficking of the attractant receptor FPR1 in human neutrophils. FPR1 internalization follows both β-arrestin dependent and independent routes, with Grk6, Arf6, and mDia1 playing key roles.

Here the authors use CRISPR activation screens to identify metabolite-sensing receptors that affect lymphocyte targeting and infiltration of tumors and engineer CAR T and CAR NK cells with these receptors to enhance solid tumor killing in mice.

The intestinal epithelium is constantly renewed by stem- and progenitor cells. Here, Zipper et al unravel that Netrin-Frazzled/DCC signalling spatially directs progenitor migration and invasion implying their findings in the pathology of metastasis.

When dendritic cells migrate through narrow gaps, they transiently assemble a mechanosensitive actin structure in front of their nucleus. This structure pushes outward against the surrounding tissue to help widen a path so the bulky cell body can pass through. At the same time, it acts as a mechanical ‘capacitor’ that helps the cell to balance forward protrusion at the leading edge and outward protrusion at the cell body.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is highly invasive, but the crosstalk between GBM cells and glia at the invasion front is unclear. A study now analyzes the invasive region and shows that GBM cells induce plexin-B2 expression in macrophages and microglia to guide extracellular matrix remodeling and facilitate a shift from bulk to infiltrative GBM growth.

Neutrophil infiltration during acute inflammation depends on leukotriene B₄ (LTB₄)-containing exosomes secreted via nuclear envelope-derived multivesicular bodies (MVBs). Co-secretion of nuclear DNA with these exosomes leads to temporal spikes in LTB₄ levels in inflamed tissue, activating the anti-inflammatory transcription factor PPARα and promoting neutrophil reverse migration. This facilitates neutrophil clearance and the resolution of inflammation.

A mouse model of high cholesterol diet and cigarette smoke inhalation provides insights into the roles of macrophage and endothelial dysfunction in the development of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

The authors of a new study characterize blebbisomes, large extracellular vesicles that contain functional mitochondria and other organelles and have significant roles in inter-cellular communication and the tumour microenvironment.

Cell surface acidification has key roles in both cell migration and bone resorption. A study now identifies a pathway whereby growth factor signalling induces local acidification, driving sialic acid removal and galectin-3-mediated integrin internalization.