Cancer is a disease that affects millions of people worldwide. It is characterized by the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that can invade surrounding tissues and spread to other parts of the body.
The dynamics of the actin-network enable the locomotion of cells, for example during development or wound closure, but also that of spreading cancer cells. Actin also plays a role in the transport of substances within the cell. However, this is less well understood than that of other intracellular transport mechanisms.
“We observed that ANGPTL4-loaded vesicles are conveyed to the periphery of the cell by means of dynamic and localized polymerization of actin filaments,” says Grosse, who is a member of the Cluster of Excellence CIBSS – Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies at the University of Freiburg.