title: Myosin light chain kinases: division of work in cell migration.
abstract: Cell motility is a highly coordinated multistep process. Uncovering the mechanism of myosin II (MYO2) activation responsible for the contractility underlying cell protrusion and retraction provides clues on how these complementary activities are coordinated. Several protein kinases have been shown to activate MYO2 by phosphorylating the associated myosin light chain (MLC). Recent work suggests that these MLC kinases are strategically localized to various cellular regions during cell migration in a polarized manner. This localization of the kinases together with their specificity in MLC phosphorylation, their distinct enzymatic properties and the distribution of the myosin isoforms generate the specific contractile activities that separately promote the cell protrusion or retraction essential for cell motility.
authors.affiliation: GSK-IMCB Group, Institute of Molecular & Cell Biology, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Leung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D018994:Myosin Light Chains / Q000378:metabolism; D009219:Myosin-Light-Chain Kinase / Q000378:metabolism*; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D018994:Myosin Light Chains; D009219:Myosin-Light-Chain Kinase