Actin dynamics during tumor cell dissemination.

ABSTRACT

The actin cytoskeleton is a dynamic network that regulates cellular behavior from development to disease. By rearranging the actin cytoskeleton, cells are capable of migrating and invading during developmental processes; however, many of these cellular properties are hijacked by cancer cells to escape primary tumors and disseminate to distant organs in the body. In this review article, we highlight recent work describing how cancer cells regulate the actin cytoskeleton to achieve efficient invasion and metastatic colonization. We also review new imaging technologies that are capable of revealing the complex architecture and regulation of the actin cytoskeleton during motility and invasion of tumor cells.