title: Actin stress fibre subtypes in mesenchymal-migrating cells.
abstract: Mesenchymal cell migration is important for embryogenesis and tissue regeneration. In addition, it has been implicated in pathological conditions such as the dissemination of cancer cells. A characteristic of mesenchymal-migrating cells is the presence of actin stress fibres, which are thought to mediate myosin II-based contractility in close cooperation with associated focal adhesions. Myosin II-based contractility regulates various cellular activities, which occur in a spatial and temporal manner to achieve directional cell migration. These myosin II-based activities involve the maturation of integrin-based adhesions, generation of traction forces, establishment of the front-to-back polarity axis, retraction of the trailing edge, extracellular matrix remodelling and mechanotransduction. Growing evidence suggests that actin stress fibre subtypes, namely dorsal stress fibres, transverse arcs and ventral stress fibres, could provide this spatial and temporal myosin II-based activity. Consistent with their functional differences, recent studies have demonstrated that the molecular composition of actin stress fibre subtypes differ significantly. This present review focuses on the current view of the molecular composition of actin stress fibre subtypes and how these fibre subtypes regulate mesenchymal cell migration.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, PO Box 56, Helsinki 00014, Finland. tea.vallenius@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: Tea
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vallenius
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002465:Cell Movement; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D024462:Myosin Type II / Q000378:metabolism; D022502:Stress Fibers / Q000378:metabolism*; D016596:Vinculin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D016596:Vinculin; D024462:Myosin Type II
keywords: actin; dorsal stress fibres; mesenchymal; migration; transverse arcs; ventral stress fibres