Why do cells make invadopodia?
Tuesday, March 1, 2016 - 09:20
in Health & Medicine
During development and immune system function in animals, specialized cells acquire the ability to invade other tissues. Such invasive behavior is important for neural crest cells that invade skin and provide pigmentation, for embryos that penetrate the uterine wall to establish the fetal-maternal connection, and for immune cells that invade tissues to reach sites of injury and infection. Cell invasive behavior is also acquired by cells in a number of diseases, including asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and most notably in cancer, where tumor cell invasion results in lethality.