Shaping Up

Our bodies contain roving cells which travel round helping with important tasks like wound healing. But these mobile cells can also contribute to human ailments including cancer and inflammation. To understand the process better researchers look for genes involved by observing their effect on cell movement. Genes which affect a cell’s mobility are likely to also affect its shape. Researchers used this reasoning to search for relevant genes. The bottom right window shows normal cells and in each of the other windows a different gene controlling movement has been ‘knocked down’ so it’s barely active. As predicted the cells all have different shapes. This approach was lucrative, as it identified many involved genes and novel therapeutic targets. Some of those genes have previously been implicated in disorders affecting brain function, such as Down’s Syndrome. This research has established a new link between cell shape and neurological disease.

Written by Julie Webb

Julie Webb

Writer

Julie began her career as a researcher in genetics. In 2000 she won a Wellcome Trust award for her work on a collaborative science drama, staged at the Edinburgh Festival. She now works as a freelance science writer and communicator.

• Anne Ridley
• Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, UK
• Originally published under Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 2.0)
• Originally published in BMC Biology 9:54