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Mechanobiology of Collective Cell Migration

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Abstract

Collective cell migration (CCM) can be described as a large scale coordinated movement of cells that are in close proximity with each other. It is a phenomenon that is observed not only in physiological processes such as that found in embryogenesis and wound healing but also in pathophysiological processes such as cancer metastasis. Some of the factors influencing this concerted process include cell–cell adhesion, cell–substrate interaction and mechanical cues such as geometrical constraints among others. Here, we review recent research work done to investigate CCM of adherent cells. We highlight the classical example of an in vitro cell monolayer to illustrate our current understanding of the different mechanobiological mechanisms involved as these cells respond to the mechanical cues present in their environment. It is hoped that such understanding may potentially lead to better therapeutic strategies for diseases such as cancer and for tissue engineering and repair.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Manon Prost, Chun Xi Wong and Larisa Bulavina at the Mechanobiology Institute for preparing the illustrations for the figures. Financial supports from the Human Frontier Science Program (Grant RGP0040/2012), and the Mechanobiology Institute (team project funding) are gratefully acknowledged. B. L. acknowledges the Institut Universitaire de France for its support.

Conflict of interest

T. B. Saw, S. Jain, B. Ladoux and C. T. Lim declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117456, Singapore

    Thuan Beng Saw & Chwee Teck Lim

  2. Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117411, Singapore

    Shreyansh Jain, Benoit Ladoux & Chwee Teck Lim

  3. Institut Jacques Monod (IJM), CNRS UMR 7592 and Université Paris Diderot, Paris, 75013, France

    Benoit Ladoux

  4. Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117575, Singapore

    Chwee Teck Lim

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  1. Thuan Beng Saw
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Correspondence to Chwee Teck Lim.

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Associate Editor Cheng Dong oversaw the review of this article.

Thuan Beng Saw and Shreyansh Jain contributed equally to this work.

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Saw, T.B., Jain, S., Ladoux, B. et al. Mechanobiology of Collective Cell Migration. Cel. Mol. Bioeng. 8, 3–13 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12195-014-0366-3

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