Supracellular contraction at the rear of neural crest cell groups drives collective chemotaxis

Collective cell chemotaxis, the directed migration of cell groups along gradients of soluble chemical cues, underlies various developmental and pathological processes. We use neural crest cells, a migratory embryonic stem cell population whose behavior has been likened to malignant invasion, to stud...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2018-10, Vol.362 (6412), p.339-343
Main Authors: Shellard, Adam, Szabó, András, Trepat, Xavier, Mayor, Roberto
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actomyosin
Actomyosin - physiology
Animals
Cell adhesion & migration
Cell migration
Chemical stimuli
Chemokine CXCL12
Chemotaxis
Contractility
Contraction
Danio rerio
Embryo cells
Embryonic Stem Cells - physiology
Embryos
In vivo methods and tests
Mesenchyme
Neural crest
Neural Crest - cytology
Neural Stem Cells - physiology
Optogenetics
Organic chemistry
Stem cells
Xenopus
Zebrafish
Zebrafish Proteins
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Summary:Collective cell chemotaxis, the directed migration of cell groups along gradients of soluble chemical cues, underlies various developmental and pathological processes. We use neural crest cells, a migratory embryonic stem cell population whose behavior has been likened to malignant invasion, to study collective chemotaxis in vivo. Studying and zebrafish, we have shown that the neural crest exhibits a tensile actomyosin ring at the edge of the migratory cell group that contracts in a supracellular fashion. This contractility is polarized during collective cell chemotaxis: It is inhibited at the front but persists at the rear of the cell cluster. The differential contractility drives directed collective cell migration ex vivo and in vivo through the intercalation of rear cells. Thus, in neural crest cells, collective chemotaxis works by rear-wheel drive.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.aau3301