Leading-edge elongation by follower cell interruption in advancing epithelial cell sheets

Abstract

Significance Collective cell migration is an important phenomenon in the developmental process of living organisms and even in mature individuals. The cells in the collective are accurately classified into leader cells, which lead the collective at the leading edge, and follower cells. We found that in the collective migration of keratocytes, the epidermal cells of fish responsible for wound repair, a mechanical interaction between two leader cells and a single follower cell can forcibly break the connection between the two leader cells and transform the follower cell into a leader cell.

Linear contraction of stress fibers generates cell body rotation

“…Blebbistatin treatment was performed as previously described 7,25 . Briefly, (±)-Blebbistatin (13186; Cayman) was dissolved at 100 mM in DMSO and then diluted 2,000 times with culture medium to a final concentration of 50 μ M. This blebbistatin medium was then added to the chamber, to the bottom of which the cells had adhered, immediately after removal of the culture medium.…”

“…Treatment with low concentrations of blebbistatin, an inhibitor of myosin II ATPase, causes the disassembly of stress fibers but does not halt crawling cell migration 7,18,19,25,30 . We observed the dynamics of the nucleus in the blebbistatin-treated keratocytes during their migration.…”

“…Blebbistatin treatment was performed as previously described 7,25 . Briefly, (±)-Blebbistatin (13186;…”

“…Blebbistatin treatment was performed as previously described 7,25 . Briefly, (±)-Blebbistatin (13186; Cayman) was dissolved at 100 mM in DMSO and then diluted 2,000 times with culture medium to a final concentration of 50 µM.…”

“…The wound healing rate of fish skin is known to reach 500 µm/h 5 , about 50 times faster than in human skin 6 . The crawling migration of fish epidermal keratocytes [7][8][9] plays the main role in fast wound repair. A single keratocyte shows fast migration while maintaining its characteristic shape that consists of a frontal crescent-shaped lamellipodium and a rear rugby ball-shaped cell body [10][11][12] .…”