Imaging the molecular machines that power cell migration

Abstract

Animal cell migration constitutes a complex process involving a multitude of forces generated and maintained by the actin cytoskeleton. Dynamic changes of the cell surface, for instance to effect cell edge protrusion, are at the core of initiating migratory processes, both in tissue culture models and whole animals. Here we sketch different aspects of imaging representative molecular constituents in such actin-driven processes, which power and regulate the polymerisation of actin filaments into bundles and networks, constituting the building blocks of such protrusions. The examples presented illustrate both the diversity of subcellular distributions of distinct molecular components, according to their function, and the complexity of dynamic changes in protrusion size, shape, and/or orientation in 3D. Considering these dynamics helps mechanistically connecting subcellular distributions of molecular machines driving protrusion and migration with their biochemical function.