Understanding the migration of cancer cells

Activity of regulatory proteins for the growth of filopodia and lamelopodia clarified Lamellipodia are veil-shaped protrusions of the plasma membrane, that can turn into upward-curled ruffles if they fail to adhere to the substrate. A dendritic meshwork of short and highly branched actin filaments might constitute their main structural component. The other type of protrusion, the filopodia, are finger-like and consist of parallel, long and unbranched actin filaments. Interestingly, fast-crawling cells mainly form lamellipodia/ruffles while poorly migrating or non-motile cells often show the coexistence of both lamellipodial and filopodial protrusions. These observations suggest that the lamellipodia-to-filopodia selection might regulate cell migration. Moreover, the pivotal contribution of lamellipodial and filopodial protrusions to important developmental and homeostatic processes certainly requires tight regulatory mechanisms.

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