Cell migration is a central process in the development and maintenance of
multicellular organisms. Tissue formation during
embryonic development,
wound healing and
immune responses all require the orchestrated movement of cells in particular directions to specific locations. Errors during this process have serious consequences, including
intellectual disability,
vascular disease,
tumor formation and
metastasis. An understanding of the mechanism by which cells migrate may lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies for controlling, for example, invasive tumour cells. Cells often migrate in response to specific external signals, including
chemical signals and
mechanical signals. Due to the highly viscous environment (low
Reynolds number), cells need to permanently produce forces in order to move. Cells achieve active movement by very different mechanisms. Many less complex prokaryotic organisms (and sperm cells) use
flagella or
cilia to propel themselves.
Eukaryotic cell migration typically is far more complex and can consist of combinations of different migration mechanisms. It generally involves drastic changes in cell shape which are driven by the
cytoskeleton. Two very distinct migration scenarios are crawling motion (most commonly studied) and blebbing motility.