( ally integrated to steer the cell under...)How to steer a moving cell

"A surprising finding was that many of the proteins identified in the neuronal network, the ‘wiring diagram?that controls early development of neural networks in the embryo, are also found to control the movement of normal and cancerous cells," said Klemke. "This is apparently a fundamental, evolutionarily conserved process in migrating cells. So it clearly has an important purpose to the cell."

A network of proteins called the cytoskeleton, the cell’s internal scaffolding, determines cell shape, helping the cell to grow and develop "growth cones." These are specialized structures at the tips of growing nerve fibers, called axons, which sense guidance signals in their environment and "steer" the axons. Cell movement also requires polarization to position the cell and help navigate its movement. Polarization is characterized by formation of a leading "false foot" or pseudopodium and a trailing rear "foot" at the back called a cell body, which is detached in the process of locomotion.

In order to understand the inner workings of the cell’s "steering wheel," the researchers developed a method to cross section the front and back of the chemotactic cell in order to analyze the components of its protein network. The cell fractionation equipment developed in Klemke’s lab is the first method to enable researchers to study the entire network of signaling proteins.

"To find out what goes wrong during metastasis, we need to understand how the signaling networks are controlled in normal healthy cells," said Klemke. "This is the first time a group of researchers from several disciplines ?biologists, chemists, proteomics researchers and computational biologists who can integrate large data sets ?have applied a global approach to analyzing how proteins regulate cell movement."

The research team’s profile of chemotactic cells is the first and mos
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Source:University of California - San Diego