http://www.jcb.org The Journal of Cell Biology RSS feed -- recent Mini-Review articles 1540-8140 The Journal of Cell Biology 0021-9525 http://www.jcb.org/icons/banner/title.gif http://www.jcb.org http://www.jcb.org/cgi/content/short/181/6/879?rss=1 Plasma membrane blebs are dynamic cytoskeleton-regulated cell protrusions that have been implicated in apoptosis, cytokinesis, and cell movement. Influencing Rho–guanosine triphosphatase activities and subsequent actomyosin dynamics appears to constitute a core component for bleb formation. In this paper, we discuss recent evidence in support of a central role of nonapoptotic membrane blebbing for cell migration and cancer cell invasion as well as advances in our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms. Based on these studies, we propose that in a physiological context, bleb-associated cell motility reflects a cell's response to reduced substratum adhesion. The importance of blebbing as a functional protrusion is underscored by the existence of multiple molecular mechanisms that govern actin-mediated bleb retraction.

]]> 2008-06-16 info:doi/10.1083/jcb.200802081 The Rockefeller University Press 6 181 884 2008-06-16 879 Mini-Review http://www.jcb.org/cgi/content/short/181/5/719?rss=1 You may have seen the bumper sticker "Eve was framed." Thousands of years of being blamed for original sin and still many wonder, where's the evidence? Today, the tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) may have the same complaint about accusations of a different type of CIN, chromosome instability. A series of recent papers, including three in this journal, propose that loss of APC function plays an important role in the CIN seen in many colon cancer cells. However, a closer look reveals a complex story that raises more questions than answers.

]]> 2008-06-02 info:doi/10.1083/jcb.200802107 The Rockefeller University Press 5 181 726 2008-06-02 719 Mini-Review