Cell movement explained by molecular recycling

Working under Martin Humphries, the Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences, Mark Morgan and his team at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Matrix Research studied the role of integrins. These molecules are able to grab hold of the fibres surrounding the cell, like hands, allowing the cell to drag its self along. However, there are several types of integrin on the cell surface and they all have different properties which affect how quickly the cell can move. Once they have been used by the cell, integrins are moved from the surface to a store inside the cell. When the time is right they are recycled back to the cell surface where they can bind with the surrounding fibres once again. What the team uncovered is the method by which cells dynamically control the type of integrins that are recycled. They found that another molecule on the surface of the cell, called syndecan-4, is able to detect and interpret subtle changes in the cell's surroundings to decide how it should respond.