Cellular locomotion using environmental topography

Anne Reversat (), Florian Gaertner, Jack Merrin, Julian Stopp, Saren Tasciyan, Juan Aguilera, Ingrid Vries, Robert Hauschild, Miroslav Hons, Matthieu Piel, Andrew Callan-Jones, Raphael Voituriez and Michael Sixt ()
Additional contact information
Anne Reversat: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
Florian Gaertner: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
Jack Merrin: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
Julian Stopp: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
Saren Tasciyan: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
Juan Aguilera: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
Ingrid Vries: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
Robert Hauschild: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
Miroslav Hons: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
Matthieu Piel: Institut Curie, PSL Research University, CNRS, UMR 144
Andrew Callan-Jones: Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, UMR 7057 CNRS, Université Paris Diderot
Raphael Voituriez: Laboratoire de Physique Theorique de la Matière Condensée et Laboratoire Jean Perrin, CNRS/Université Pierre-et-Marie Curie
Michael Sixt: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)

Nature, 2020, vol. 582, issue 7813, 582-585

Abstract: Abstract Eukaryotic cells migrate by coupling the intracellular force of the actin cytoskeleton to the environment. While force coupling is usually mediated by transmembrane adhesion receptors, especially those of the integrin family, amoeboid cells such as leukocytes can migrate extremely fast despite very low adhesive forces1. Here we show that leukocytes cannot only migrate under low adhesion but can also transmit forces in the complete absence of transmembrane force coupling. When confined within three-dimensional environments, they use the topographical features of the substrate to propel themselves. Here the retrograde flow of the actin cytoskeleton follows the texture of the substrate, creating retrograde shear forces that are sufficient to drive the cell body forwards. Notably, adhesion-dependent and adhesion-independent migration are not mutually exclusive, but rather are variants of the same principle of coupling retrograde actin flow to the environment and thus can potentially operate interchangeably and simultaneously. As adhesion-free migration is independent of the chemical composition of the environment, it renders cells completely autonomous in their locomotive behaviour.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2283-z

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