ArticleScience advances2021
The nuclear piston activates mechanosensitive ion channels to generate cell migration paths in confining microenvironments.
Article in Science advances, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
74 citing papers in PubMed, 120 citations in OpenAlex.
- Nuclear mechanobiology in confined cell migration.Nucleus (Austin, Tex.) · 2026Review
- Microscale Mechanical Cues in Hydrogels: Engineering Strategies to Modulate Cell Fates in Three Dimensions.Cell biomaterials · 2026Article
- Article
- Amoeboid-mesenchymal transition and the proteolytic control of cancer invasion plasticity.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Sp1 mechanotransduction regulates breast cancer cell invasion in engineered viscoelastic extracellular matrices.Biomaterials · 2026Article
- Nuclear Mechanics and Nuclear Mechanotransduction in Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- A predictive mechanochemical modeling framework for the deformation and remodeling of the nuclear lamina.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Nanocollision promotes locomotion of dendritic cells for tumor therapy.Science advances · 2026Article
- Extracellular matrix physical properties regulate cancer cell morphological transitions in 3D hydrogel microtissues.Acta biomaterialia · 2026Article
- Nuclear deformation acts as a mechanical switch to drive breast cancer cell migration in a confined microenvironment.Theranostics · 2026Article
- Dynamic Regulation of Granular Hydrogels Through Guest-Host Interactions to Spatiotemporally Guide Cellular Migration.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Review
- T Cells Tear Apart Confining Extracellular Matrix Via a Breaststroke-like Motion to Generate Migration Paths.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Modeling tumor transport and growth with poroelastic biopolymer networks.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Immune Cell Migration Models Synergize Nuclear Piston, Uropod, and Microenvironment into Hydraulic Cell Engine.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Cell volume regulates terminal differentiation of cultured human epidermal keratinocytes.Journal of cell science · 2025Article
- Compressed Cells Facilitate Adhesion Through Glycocalyx.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Monocytes use protrusive forces to generate migration paths in viscoelastic collagen-based extracellular matrices.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Review
- The mechanism of nesprin-2 accumulation at the nucleus front during confined cell migration.Biophysical journal · 2025Article
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Cell migration in confining microenvironments is limited by the ability of the stiff nucleus to deform through pores when migration paths are preexisting and elastic, but how cells generate these paths remains unclear. Here, we reveal a mechanism by which the nucleus mechanically generates migration paths for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in confining microenvironments. MSCs migrate robustly in nanoporous, confining hydrogels that are viscoelastic and plastic but not in hydrogels that are more elastic. To migrate, MSCs first extend thin protrusions that widen over time because of a nuclear piston, thus opening up a migration path in a confining matrix. Theoretical modeling and experiments indicate that the nucleus pushing into the protrusion activates mechanosensitive ion channels, leading to an influx of ions that increases osmotic pressure, which outcompetes hydrostatic pressure to drive protrusion expansion. Thus, instead of limiting migration, the nucleus powers migration by generating migration paths.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.