Completed Cells, Biochemistry & Physiology Genetics & Molecular Biology

Actin cortex mechanics and the morphogensis of animal cells

Funder MRC (part of UKRI)
Recipient organisation University College London Source-published name: University College London
Funding £1.6M
Period Jul 2013 — Mar 2017

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

Every time a wound heals, a cell divides, or a tumour spreads, a living cell has physically deformed itself. This project investigates the fundamental physics behind that shape-shifting—how a cell’s internal molecular scaffolding, called the actin cortex, gives it mechanical properties that allow it to squeeze, stretch, and migrate. The problem is that we understand the molecules involved in cell shape control, but not how those molecules translate into the physical forces that actually move the cell. This gap matters because diseases like cancer are triggered by molecular changes, but their real-world consequences—uncontrolled division and metastasis—are mechanical failures. Without knowing how cell physics breaks down, we cannot fully understand why tumours form or how cancer cells spread. This is fundamental science, not applied medicine. The researchers are combining biology and physics to build a quantitative picture of cell mechanics. If successful, the work will provide a physical framework for interpreting how molecular defects lead to mechanical dysfunction. That framework could eventually help researchers identify which mechanical vulnerabilities in cancer cells might be exploited therapeutically—but that application lies years in the future. For now, the goal is simply to understand how a cell’s shape is physically controlled.

View original technical description
We investigate how animal cells control their shape. Many vital processes in our body rely on precise changes in cell shapes. For example, when a tissue is wounded, cells deform and migrate in order to close the wound. Another example is cell division, where the mother cell deforms and splits itself into two daughter cells. Cell division is central to embryonic development, where one initial cell multiplies and gives rise to an entire organism. Improper control of cell shape can lead to many diseases. A prominent example is cancer, where improper division lead to tumour formation and improper migration leads to metastasis. As for any other physical object, the shape of a cell is controlled by physics. The cell produces molecules, these molecules form larger structures, which determine the mechanical properties of a cell. It is these global mechanical properties that drive cell deformations. We combine biology and physics to understand how the cell controls its shape. We investigate the physical properties of cells, and relate them to the molecular processes that control them. This approach is powerful, because diseases, such as cancer, are caused by changes in the molecules but their effects, such as tumour formation, result from changes in global cell mechanics. It is thus essential to understand the physical control of processes like cell migration and division. Our long-term aim is to understand how a wrong control of cell physics leads to pathological conditions.

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Related Research

Grants with similar aims, by meaning.

Cell morphogenesis across scales: from molecular processes to the biomechanics of cell shape.
Molecular control of actin network architecture and mechanics during cell shape changes
Deciphering morphogenetic cues encoded in cell shape
Cell movement and chemotaxis
Cytokinetic morphodynamics: dissecting the molecular and mechanical control of cell division

Original classification

Intramural

Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.