Molecular mechanisms for collective cell migration--perspectives and approaches from the studies on the actin-binding protein Girdin

In embryonal development and pathogenesis of diseases, cells often get connected and form small groups to undergo "collective migration", rather than spread out individually. The examples include the migration of neural crest cells and neuroblasts during development and the invasion of cancers in surrounding stroma, indicating the importance and significance of collective behavior of cells in the body. Recent studies have revealed the mechanisms for collective cell migration, which had seemed not to be the subject of traditional cell biology on single cells in culture. The heterogeneity in cell groups is also a key in understanding the mechanisms for collective cell migration. In this article, we describe recently emerging mechanisms for collective cell migration, with a particular focus on our studies on the actin-binding protein Girdin and tripartite motif containing 27.