Regulation of Cell Migration

The regulation of cell migration is critical for development and normal cell function. Migration is often activated at critical times and in specific cell populations to regulate key biological processes including development, wound healing, and immunity. Cells migrate over short or long distances, as part of normal developmental programs, and in response to stress or damage. Conversely, suppression of cell migration is necessary to maintain epithelial and endothelial barriers and to maintain organ architecture. Aberrant regulation of cell migration can result in developmental defects and pathological conditions including metastasis, the spread of cancer cells throughout the body. Consequently, migration is heavily regulated at multiple steps in the migratory process, with elaborate signaling pathways exerting effects on dynamic cytoskeletal structures, and the breaking and re-forming of contacts between cells and their extracellular environment.This article will focus on some of the major mechanisms that regulate cell migration at distinct points in the process: (1) the induction and guidance of migration, (2) cytoskeletal changes that underlie migration, and (3) the interaction of a migrating cell with its environment.