title: Spatial regulation of tumor cell protrusions by RhoC.
abstract: Systemic metastasis is the dissemination of cancer cells from the primary tumor to distant organs and is the primary cause of death in cancer patients. How do cancer cells leave the primary tumor mass? The ability of the tumor cells to form different types of actin-rich protrusions including invasive protrusions (invadopodia) and locomotory protrusions (lamellipodia [2D] or pseudopodia [3D]), facilitate the invasion and dissemination of the tumor cells. Rho-family of p21 small GTPases plays a direct role in regulating the actin dynamics in these intracellular compartments. Recent studies have shown that the signaling molecules including RhoC/p190RhoGEF/p190RhoGAP acts as a "molecular compass" in order to direct the spatial and temporal dynamics of the formation of these invasive and locomotory protrusions leading to efficient invasion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology; Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University; Bronx, NY USA; Gruss Lipper Biophotonics Center; Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University; Bronx, NY USA.
authors.forename: Jose Javier
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Bravo-Cordero
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology; Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University; Bronx, NY USA; Gruss Lipper Biophotonics Center; Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University; Bronx, NY USA.
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hodgson
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology; Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University; Bronx, NY USA; Gruss Lipper Biophotonics Center; Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University; Bronx, NY USA.
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Condeelis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D022081:Cell Surface Extensions / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology; D020741:rho GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020741:rho GTP-Binding Proteins
keywords: Invadopodia; RhoA; RhoC; actin cytoskeleton; chemotaxis; cofilin; lamellipodia; p190RhoGAP; p190RhoGEF