The Cell Motor

Research project P 14660 The Cell Motor John Victor SMALL 09.10.2000 Cell movements are an integral and essential feature of embryonic development and wound repair. The motile tips of nerve cells navigate across the body to reach target organs and the mobilisation of cells during the immune response likewise relys on the inherent ability of cells to move. Undesired cell movements are a hallmark of specific pathological situations: in particular, cell motility contributes to the dissemination of malignant cells on their way to create metastases. Understanding these process therefore requires an elucidation of the mechanism of cell movement and its control. The initial phase of cell movement involves the protrusion of a thin leaflet of cytoplasm, termed a lamellipodium. We already know that protrusion is driven by the polarised growth of a meshwork of actin filaments that makes up the lamellipodium. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the localisation and control of lamellipodia growth are currently unknown. In this project we propose to characterise the molecular components at the tips of lamellipodia, where growth is initiated, driven and controlled. We plan to exploit the new information emerging from sequence databases to help identify putative components of the cell motor machinery. In a post-genomic approach, we will then establish if candidate molecules are components of the cell motor by tagging them with GFP and analysing their localisation and dynamics in living cells.