Cell Block

Cells are often on the move, but how they navigate obstacles is a little mysterious. Here researchers create a sort of assault course for young pre-osteoblasts – cells destined to develop into bone. A microscope zooms down from above capturing the scene after eight days of challenging growth around a hemispherical bump (cells seem to prefer valleys to mountains). But these cells, highlighted in red with DNA in blue, are adapting. They align their stress fibres – stretchy bundles of actin used to change their shape and direction. Researchers believe cells align some of their stress fibres in the direction of movement while others brace across the cell to limit bending. Cells working together means the tissue can reach out between these obstacles, like climbers strung together navigating a mountain pass (although a million times smaller). Such insights may suggest ways to support migrating cells during development, or tissues remodelling after injury.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Video from work by Sebastien J. P. Callens and colleagues
• Department of Biomechanical Engineering, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Delft, The Netherlands
• Video originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Nature Communications, March 2023