Cellular responses to extracellular guidance cues.
Extracellular guidance cues have a key role in orchestrating cell behaviour. They can take many forms, including soluble and cell-bound ligands (proteins, lipids, peptides or small molecules) and insoluble matrix substrates, but to act as guidance cues, they must be presented to the cell in a spatially restricted manner. Cells that recognize such cues respond by activating intracellular signal transduction pathways in a spatially restricted manner and convert the extracellular information into intracellular polarity. Although extracellular cues influence a broad range of cell polarity decisions, such as mitotic spindle orientation during asymmetric cell division, or the establishment of apical-basal polarity in epithelia, this review will focus specifically on guidance cues that promote cell migration (chemotaxis), or localized cell shape changes (chemotropism).
Berzat
Anastacia
A
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Cell Biology Program, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Hall
Alan
A
D000818:Animals; D048430:Cell Shape; D002633:Chemotaxis; D006801:Humans; D015398:Signal Transduction