MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Pak Kin Wong Ph.D. Aerospace& Mechanical Engineering Department Biomedical Engineering and Bio5 Institute The University of Arizona Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Collective cell migration is central to various (patho)physiological processes, such as tissue development, regeneration, and cancer metastasis. At the onset of the process, a subset of cells acquires distinct leader cell phenotypes in the initially homogeneous population and leads the migration. However, how leader cells are initiated among the initial homogeneous population and how leader cell density is regulated during collective migration remain unknown. In this study, we demonstrate the formation of leader cells is regulated dynamically by Dll4 signaling through Notch1 and cellular stress near the leading edge. Our finding provides a molecular basis for the stochastic emergence of leader cells, a process originally considered random. (more…)