---
_id: '6328'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: During metazoan development, immune surveillance and cancer dissemination,
    cells migrate in complex three-dimensional microenvironments1,2,3. These spaces
    are crowded by cells and extracellular matrix, generating mazes with differently
    sized gaps that are typically smaller than the diameter of the migrating cell4,5.
    Most mesenchymal and epithelial cells and some—but not all—cancer cells actively
    generate their migratory path using pericellular tissue proteolysis6. By contrast,
    amoeboid cells such as leukocytes use non-destructive strategies of locomotion7,
    raising the question how these extremely fast cells navigate through dense tissues.
    Here we reveal that leukocytes sample their immediate vicinity for large pore
    sizes, and are thereby able to choose the path of least resistance. This allows
    them to circumnavigate local obstacles while effectively following global directional
    cues such as chemotactic gradients. Pore-size discrimination is facilitated by
    frontward positioning of the nucleus, which enables the cells to use their bulkiest
    compartment as a mechanical gauge. Once the nucleus and the closely associated
    microtubule organizing centre pass the largest pore, cytoplasmic protrusions still
    lingering in smaller pores are retracted. These retractions are coordinated by
    dynamic microtubules; when microtubules are disrupted, migrating cells lose coherence
    and frequently fragment into migratory cytoplasmic pieces. As nuclear positioning
    in front of the microtubule organizing centre is a typical feature of amoeboid
    migration, our findings link the fundamental organization of cellular polarity
    to the strategy of locomotion.
acknowledged_ssus:
- _id: SSU
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: letter_note
author:
- first_name: Jörg
  full_name: Renkawitz, Jörg
  id: 3F0587C8-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Renkawitz
  orcid: 0000-0003-2856-3369
- first_name: Aglaja
  full_name: Kopf, Aglaja
  id: 31DAC7B6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Kopf
  orcid: 0000-0002-2187-6656
- first_name: Julian A
  full_name: Stopp, Julian A
  id: 489E3F00-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Stopp
- first_name: Ingrid
  full_name: de Vries, Ingrid
  id: 4C7D837E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: de Vries
- first_name: Meghan K.
  full_name: Driscoll, Meghan K.
  last_name: Driscoll
- first_name: Jack
  full_name: Merrin, Jack
  id: 4515C308-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Merrin
  orcid: 0000-0001-5145-4609
- first_name: Robert
  full_name: Hauschild, Robert
  id: 4E01D6B4-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Hauschild
  orcid: 0000-0001-9843-3522
- first_name: Erik S.
  full_name: Welf, Erik S.
  last_name: Welf
- first_name: Gaudenz
  full_name: Danuser, Gaudenz
  last_name: Danuser
- first_name: Reto
  full_name: Fiolka, Reto
  last_name: Fiolka
- first_name: Michael K
  full_name: Sixt, Michael K
  id: 41E9FBEA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Sixt
  orcid: 0000-0002-6620-9179
citation:
  ama: Renkawitz J, Kopf A, Stopp JA, et al. Nuclear positioning facilitates amoeboid
    migration along the path of least resistance. <i>Nature</i>. 2019;568:546-550.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1087-5">10.1038/s41586-019-1087-5</a>
  apa: Renkawitz, J., Kopf, A., Stopp, J. A., de Vries, I., Driscoll, M. K., Merrin,
    J., … Sixt, M. K. (2019). Nuclear positioning facilitates amoeboid migration along
    the path of least resistance. <i>Nature</i>. Springer Nature. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1087-5">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1087-5</a>
  chicago: Renkawitz, Jörg, Aglaja Kopf, Julian A Stopp, Ingrid de Vries, Meghan K.
    Driscoll, Jack Merrin, Robert Hauschild, et al. “Nuclear Positioning Facilitates
    Amoeboid Migration along the Path of Least Resistance.” <i>Nature</i>. Springer
    Nature, 2019. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1087-5">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1087-5</a>.
  ieee: J. Renkawitz <i>et al.</i>, “Nuclear positioning facilitates amoeboid migration
    along the path of least resistance,” <i>Nature</i>, vol. 568. Springer Nature,
    pp. 546–550, 2019.
  ista: Renkawitz J, Kopf A, Stopp JA, de Vries I, Driscoll MK, Merrin J, Hauschild
    R, Welf ES, Danuser G, Fiolka R, Sixt MK. 2019. Nuclear positioning facilitates
    amoeboid migration along the path of least resistance. Nature. 568, 546–550.
  mla: Renkawitz, Jörg, et al. “Nuclear Positioning Facilitates Amoeboid Migration
    along the Path of Least Resistance.” <i>Nature</i>, vol. 568, Springer Nature,
    2019, pp. 546–50, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1087-5">10.1038/s41586-019-1087-5</a>.
  short: J. Renkawitz, A. Kopf, J.A. Stopp, I. de Vries, M.K. Driscoll, J. Merrin,
    R. Hauschild, E.S. Welf, G. Danuser, R. Fiolka, M.K. Sixt, Nature 568 (2019) 546–550.
date_created: 2019-04-17T06:52:28Z
date_published: 2019-04-25T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2024-03-25T23:30:22Z
day: '25'
department:
- _id: MiSi
- _id: NanoFab
- _id: Bio
doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1087-5
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
  isi:
  - '000465594200050'
  pmid:
  - '30944468'
intvolume: '       568'
isi: 1
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7217284/
month: '04'
oa: 1
oa_version: Submitted Version
page: 546-550
pmid: 1
project:
- _id: 25A603A2-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
  call_identifier: FP7
  grant_number: '281556'
  name: Cytoskeletal force generation and force transduction of migrating leukocytes
    (EU)
- _id: 25FE9508-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
  call_identifier: H2020
  grant_number: '724373'
  name: Cellular navigation along spatial gradients
- _id: 265FAEBA-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
  call_identifier: FWF
  grant_number: W01250-B20
  name: Nano-Analytics of Cellular Systems
- _id: 25681D80-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
  call_identifier: FP7
  grant_number: '291734'
  name: International IST Postdoc Fellowship Programme
- _id: 25A48D24-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
  grant_number: ALTF 1396-2014
  name: Molecular and system level view of immune cell migration
publication: Nature
publication_status: published
publisher: Springer Nature
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
  link:
  - description: News on IST Homepage
    relation: press_release
    url: https://ist.ac.at/en/news/leukocytes-use-their-nucleus-as-a-ruler-to-choose-path-of-least-resistance/
  record:
  - id: '14697'
    relation: dissertation_contains
    status: public
  - id: '6891'
    relation: dissertation_contains
    status: public
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Nuclear positioning facilitates amoeboid migration along the path of least
  resistance
type: journal_article
user_id: 4359f0d1-fa6c-11eb-b949-802e58b17ae8
volume: 568
year: '2019'
...