Edited by Henrik DohlmanThe chemokine receptor CXCR4 and its chemokine ligand CXCL12 mediate directed cell migration during organogenesis, immune responses, and metastatic disease. However, the mechanisms governing CXCL12/CXCR4-dependent chemotaxis remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the -arrestin1⅐ signal-transducing adaptor molecule 1 (STAM1) complex, initially identified to govern lysosomal trafficking of CXCR4, also mediates CXCR4-dependent chemotaxis. Expression of minigene fragments from -arrestin1 or STAM1, known to disrupt the -arrestin1⅐STAM1 complex, and RNAi against -arrestin1 or STAM1, attenuates CXCL12-induced chemotaxis. The -arrestin1⅐STAM1 complex is necessary for promoting autophosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK). FAK is necessary for CXCL12-induced chemotaxis and associates with and localizes with -arrestin1 and STAM1 in a CXCL12-dependent manner. Our data reveal previously unknown roles in CXCR4-dependent chemotaxis for -arrestin1 and STAM1, which we propose act in concert to regulate FAK signaling. The -arrestin1⅐STAM1 complex is a promising target for blocking CXCR4-promoted FAK autophosphorylation and chemotaxis.Chemotaxis is a process by which cells move toward or away from a chemical signal in a directed manner (1). The chemokine receptor CXCR4 and its ligand CXCL12 mediate chemotaxis of many cell types, and in this way this ligand/receptor pair is important during organ development, immune responses, and stem cell mobilization among other processes (2-5). CXCL12/ CXCR4-mediated chemotaxis is also involved in several pathologies, in particular cancer (6, 7). CXCR4 is up-regulated in several solid and hematological tumors and together with CXCL12 plays an important role in metastatic disease (8). Metastases are formed by several sequential steps that enable cancer cells from the primary tumor to disseminate to new organ sites through the vascular system (9). This has been linked in part to migration of CXCR4-expressing cancer cells to organs that express CXCL12 (6, 10). Despite the role of CXCR4-dependent cell migration in health and disease, the mechanisms remain poorly understood.CXCR4 belongs to the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) 2 family, and typically CXCR4-dependent chemotaxis occurs via G protein-dependent signaling pathways (11). However, -arrestin-dependent signaling also contributes to CXCR4-dependent chemotaxis (12). CXCL12-promoted migration of T cells and B cells isolated from the spleen of -arrestin2 knockout mice is attenuated compared with cells isolated from matched wild-type mice (12). In HEK293 cells, -arrestin-promoted migration induced by CXCL12 occurs via a p38-dependent pathway (13). -Arrestins interact with several proteins that regulate the actin cytoskeleton, which undergoes reorganization in response to chemotactic signals acting on other GPCRs (14 -16). These studies highlight the fact that -arrestins regulate cell migration via multiple mechanisms, but detailed insight is lacking. -Arrestins also negatively regulate CXCR4 sig...