Cell motility is currently one of the “hottest” areas in biology. An example of normal healthy migration is in adult skin, when cells migrate from the inner tissue to the outer layer to form a protective coating of dead skin cells. However, when referring to tumors, cell migration is dangerous. Skin tumors arise in the epidermis. The tumor then invades the dermis, creating a metastatic lesion, which breaks down tissue, including bone.

This paper experiments with the two forms of morphology, elongated and rounded. The elongated morphology is dependent on Rac, a signaling protein. When GDP binds to the Rac, the signal is off and when GTP binds, it is turned on. The rounded morphology is dependent on a signal from Rho and ROCK, two more signaling proteins. Rho only sends a signal to move when it is activated by GTP. When protease activity is inhibited, elongated cells convert to the rounded form, and continue migration. So, to inhibit the movement of tumor cells, it is necessary to stop the elongated and rounded morphology.

This experiment used Y27632, which inhibits Rho and PI, a protease which inhibits Rac. Through the use of these two inhibitors, Sahai and Marshall attempt to determine what exactly is most effective in preventing tumor movement and which signaling proteins activate which morphology.

Methods

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