Contact Inhibition of Locomotion
Background
Cell migration is an essential component of various physiological processes such as morphogenesis, wound healing, and metastasis. Cell-cell interactions in which cell-cell contact reorients cell polarity are necessary for the correct function of many developmental events. One of the earliest such interactions known was termed ‘contact inhibition of locomotion (CIL)’ by Abercombie and Heaysman over five decades ago in chick fibroblasts cultured on flat 2D substrates. In CIL, two approaching cells isolated from the rest of cell population first make contact, followed by protrusion inhibition at the site of contact, which leads to cell repolarization through formation of new protrusions away from the site of contact. Subsequently, cells migrate away from each other in the direction of newly formed protrusions. CIL is most commonly studied and analyzed on flat 2D substrates, while in contrast, cells traveling in matrix in vivo are constrained to move along narrow fibers. A common shortcoming in use of featureless 2D assays is thus the inability to study CIL under natural constraints.
Our approach in collaboration with Camley group
(Johns Hopkins University):
We make use of suspended fibers of varying diameters and architectures to study CIL interactions (homotypic and heterotypic).
