Supracellular Actomyosin Mediates Cell-Cell Communication and Shapes Collective Migratory Morphology

Heng Wang; Xuan Guo; Xianping Wang; Xiaobo Wang; Jiong Chen

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2020.101204

Supracellular Actomyosin Mediates Cell-Cell Communication and Shapes Collective Migratory Morphology

iScience. 2020 Jun 26;23(6):101204. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101204. Epub 2020 May 27.

Authors

Heng Wang¹, Xuan Guo², Xianping Wang², Xiaobo Wang³, Jiong Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and MOE Key Laboratory of Model Animals for Disease Study, Model Animal Research Center, Nanjing University, 12 Xue-fu Road, Nanjing 210061, China. Electronic address: wangheng@nicemice.cn.
² State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and MOE Key Laboratory of Model Animals for Disease Study, Model Animal Research Center, Nanjing University, 12 Xue-fu Road, Nanjing 210061, China.
³ LBCMCP, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse, France.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and MOE Key Laboratory of Model Animals for Disease Study, Model Animal Research Center, Nanjing University, 12 Xue-fu Road, Nanjing 210061, China. Electronic address: chenjiong@nju.edu.cn.

Abstract

During collective cell migration, front cells tend to extend a predominant leading protrusion, which is rarely present in cells at the side or rear positions. Using Drosophila border cells (BCs) as a model system of collective migration, we revealed the presence of a supracellular actomyosin network at the peripheral surface of BC clusters. We demonstrated that the Myosin II-mediated mechanical tension as exerted by this peripheral supracellular network not only mediated cell-cell communication between leading BC and non-leading BCs but also restrained formation of prominent protrusions at non-leading BCs. Further analysis revealed that a cytoplasmic dendritic actin network that depends on the function of Arp2/3 complex interacted with the actomyosin network. Together, our data suggest that the outward pushing or protrusive force as generated from Arp2/3-dependent actin polymerization and the inward restraining force as produced from the supracellular actomyosin network together determine the collective and polarized morphology of migratory BCs.

Keywords: Biological Sciences; Cell Biology; Functional Aspects of Cell Biology; Organizational Aspects of Cell Biology.