The paper
J.G. Dumortier et al., “Collective mesendoderm migration relies on an intrinsic directionality signal transmitted through cell contacts,” PNAS, 109:16945-50, 2012.
Cells migrating as a group play an important role in early development, tissue repair, and some cancers, but the mechanisms by which close-knit gangs of cells find their way to a new location are not clear. Previous work has suggested that cells migrate as individuals, their coherence a result of each responding to the same signals.
But Nicolas David and colleagues at the Institute of Biology of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris were not convinced. They used single-cell transplants in zebrafish embryos to demonstrate that migratory cells can only orient properly when in contact with the endogenous group, suggesting that directional information is contained within the group and shared through cell-cell contacts, rather than provided by external cues.
The researchers engineered prechordal plate cells, on the dorsal ...
