@article{4385157d165343dc9d437e7688c671b4,
title = "Cell Mechanics at the Rear Act to Steer the Direction of Cell Migration",
abstract = "Motile cells navigate complex environments by changing their direction of travel, generating left-right asymmetries in their mechanical subsystems to physically turn. Currently, little is known about how external directional cues are propagated along the length scale of the whole cell and integrated with its force-generating apparatus to steer migration mechanically. We examine the mechanics of spontaneous cell turning in fish epidermal keratocytes and find that the mechanical asymmetries responsible for turning behavior predominate at the rear of the cell, where there is asymmetric centripetal actin flow. Using experimental perturbations, we identify two linked feedback loops connecting myosin II contractility, adhesion strength and actin network flow in turning cells that are sufficient to explain the observed cell shapes and trajectories. Notably, asymmetries in actin polymerization at the cell leading edge play only a minor role in the mechanics of cell turning—that is, cells steer from the rear.",
keywords = "actin, adhesion, asymmetry, cell migration, cell motility, cell turning, keratocyte, myosin, self-organization",
author = "Allen, {Greg M.} and Lee, {Kun Chun} and Barnhart, {Erin L.} and Tsuchida, {Mark A.} and Wilson, {Cyrus A.} and Edgar Gutierrez and Alexander Groisman and Theriot, {Julie A.} and Alex Mogilner",
note = "Funding Information: We thank Zachary Pincus, Washington University School of Medicine, for development of the Cell Tool image analysis software, Ulrich Schwarz and Benedikt Sabass for the development of computational methods to calculate traction force, and Aaron Straight for the Xenopus regulatory myosin light-chain-YFP fusion plasmid. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Army Office of Research, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. G.A. J.A.T. and A.M. directed the study and wrote the manuscript; G.A. E.L.B. M.A.T. C.A.W. E.G. and A.G. did the experiments and analyzed the data; K.C.L. G.A. and A.M. did the modeling. The authors declare no competing interests. Funding Information: We thank Zachary Pincus, Washington University School of Medicine, for development of the Cell Tool image analysis software, Ulrich Schwarz and Benedikt Sabass for the development of computational methods to calculate traction force, and Aaron Straight for the Xenopus regulatory myosin light-chain-YFP fusion plasmid. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health , the Army Office of Research , and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute . Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Elsevier Inc. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",
year = "2020",
month = sep,
day = "23",
doi = "10.1016/j.cels.2020.08.008",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "11",
pages = "286--299.e4",
journal = "Cell Systems",
issn = "2405-4712",
publisher = "Cell Press",
number = "3",
}