Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40571734›Full record

ArticleNature materials2025

Cytoplasmic anillin and Ect2 promote RhoA/myosin II-dependent confined migration and invasion.

Avery T Tran, Emily O Wisniewski, Panagiotis Mistriotis, Konstantin Stoletov, Maria Parlani, Alice Amitrano, Brent Ifemembi, Se Jong Lee, Kaustav Bera, Yuqi Zhang and 16 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature materials, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Local RhoA activation induces septin recruitment.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

26 authors.

Avery T Tran *Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Emily O Wisniewski *Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Panagiotis Mistriotis *Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. pmistriotis@auburn.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-8069-3278
Konstantin StoletovDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Maria ParlaniDepartment of Medical Biosciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
Alice AmitranoDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7919-2225
Brent IfemembiDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Se Jong LeeDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Kaustav BeraDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0962-4368
Yuqi ZhangDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Soontorn TuntithavornwatDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Alexandros AfthinosDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6906-0771
Alexander KiepasDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Bhawana AgarwalDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1884-6659
Sanjiban NathDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
John J JamiesonDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Yi ZuoJohns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0009-0008-2919-6568
Daniel HabibJohns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0504-9076
Pei-Hsun WuDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7371-2960
Stuart S MartinMarlene and Stewart Greenebaum National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Sharon GerechtDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8542-4835
Luo GuJohns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9813-7202
John D LewisDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-7734-1204
Petr KalabDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. petr@jhu.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-8145-7728
Peter FriedlDepartment of Medical Biosciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-0119-4041
Konstantinos KonstantopoulosDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. konstant@jhu.edu.ORCID 0000-0003-2623-1459

Funding

Studying E-cadherin dynamics during extravasation and metastatic colonizationU54CA261694 · NCI · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · PI ROGER D KAMM · 2021 to 2026
$9.1M
The interplay of ion transporters and cytoskeleton in breast cancer migration and metastasisR01CA254193 · NCI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI KONSTANTOPOULOS, KONSTANTINOS, MARTIN, STUART S · 2021 to 2025
$2.7M
Viscotaxis: Novel cell migration mechanisms regulated by microenvironmental viscosityR01CA257647 · NCI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI KONSTANTOPOULOS, KONSTANTINOS · 2021 to 2025
$2.3M
Cell mechanoresponses in physiologically relevant microenvironmentsR35GM147101 · NIGMS · AUBURN UNIVERSITY AT AUBURN · PI Panagiotis Mistriotis · 2022 to 2026
$2.1M
Cell mechanobiology in confinement using an integration of bioengineering, materials systems and in vivo modelsR01GM142175 · NIGMS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI KONSTANTOPOULOS, KONSTANTINOS · 2021 to 2024
$1.8M
The interplay of extracellular fluid viscosity, stiffness and confinement in regulating cell responsesR35GM156305 · NIGMS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Konstantinos Konstantopoulos · 2025 to 2026
$959k
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA254193NCI NIH HHS R01 CA257647NCI NIH HHS U54 CA261694NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM142175NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM147101NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM156305
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cell migration in mechanically confined environments is a crucial step of metastatic cancer progression. Nonetheless, the molecular components and processes mediating such behaviour are still not fully understood. Here we demonstrate that a pool of the scaffolding protein anillin and its cofactor Ect2, which are both predominantly nuclear proteins and critical mediators of cytokinesis, is present in the cytoplasm of multiple interphase cell types that promote confined cell migration. Confined migration in biomimetic microfluidic models triggers the actomyosin-binding-dependent recruitment of anillin to the plasma membrane at the poles of migrating cells in a manner that scales with microenvironmental stiffness and confinement. The guanine nucleotide exchange activity of Ect2 is required for its RhoA-GTPase-mediated activation of myosin II at the cell poles, enhancing invasion, bleb-based migration and extravasation. Confinement-induced nuclear envelope rupture further amplifies this process due to the release of further anillin and Ect2 into the cytoplasm. Overall, these results show how Ect2 and anillin cooperate to mediate RhoA/ROCK/myosin II-dependent mechanoadaptation and invasive cancer progression.

Indexed as

Cell MovementCytoplasmMicrofilament ProteinsMyosin Type IIProto-Oncogene ProteinsrhoA GTP-Binding ProteinCell Line, TumorContractile ProteinsHumansNeoplasm InvasivenessanillinContractile ProteinsECT2 protein, humanMicrofilament ProteinsMyosin Type IIProto-Oncogene ProteinsrhoA GTP-Binding ProteinRHOA protein, human

Identifiers

PMID40571734
PMCPMC12404997

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.