Work

Immune Cell Membrane Protrusions as Sensory Organelles

Year: 2025

Type: review

Abstract: Immune cells possess a remarkable set of complementary surface protrusions, such as microvilli, podosomes, filopodia, and lamellipodia, which play pivotal roles in the sensing of and responding to varied environmental cues. These dynamic structures maximize the surface area-to-volume ratio of immune cells, which in turn enhances cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, while generating pulling and pushing forces, allowing immune cells to integrate biochemical and physical cues from their surroundings. This review discusses recent insights into the structures and dynamics of different protrusions, the molecular machinery behind mechanosensing, the differential role of protrusions for different subsets of immune cells, and the cutting-edge technology that has advanced our understanding of those protrusions.

Source: Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology

DOI: 10.1146/annurev-cellbio-101323-022130

Authors: Tamara Zünd, Viola Vogel, Enrico Klotzsch

Institutions: ETH Zurich, Max Delbrück Center, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Language: English

Topic: Cellular Mechanics and Interactions

Subfield: Cell Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: National Science Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich

Awards: G2364984104, G2758371512, G3917140868, Multicellular Niches: How the Mechanobiology of Extracellular Matrix Steers Pathomechanisms