title: Membrane Blebbing Is Required for Mesenchymal Precursor Migration.
abstract: Mesenchymal precursors (MPs) present some advantageous features, such as differentiation and migration, which make them promising candidates for cell therapy. A better understanding of MP migration characteristics would aid the development of cell delivery protocols. Traditionally, cell migration is thought to occur only through the formation of lamellipodia. More recently, contractility-driven bleb formation has emerged as an alternative mechanism of motility. Here we report that MPs derived from different tissues present spontaneously dynamic cytoplasmic projections in sub-confluent culture, which appear as a combination of lamellipodia with blebs in the leading edge. Upon initial seeding, however, only bleb structures could be observed. Immunofluorescence revealed the presence of pERM, RhoA and F-actin during the blebbing process. Results from migration assays in the presence of blebbistatin, a myosin II inhibitor, showed that bleb formation correlated with migratory capacity, suggesting a functional role for blebs in migration. Bleb formation might be a useful mechanism to improve cell migration in cellular therapy protocols.
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain.|Universidad Europea (UE), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: de Lucas
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Aurora
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bernal
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: San Martín
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain.|Universidad Europea (UE), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Beatriz G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Gálvez
mesh_terms: D008841:Actin Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006576:Heterocyclic Compounds, 4 or More Rings / Q000494:pharmacology; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D011554:Pseudopodia / Q000378:metabolism; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D006576:Heterocyclic Compounds, 4 or More Rings; C472645:blebbistatin; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein