Ricard Alert

Peeling the cell's skin off

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The plasma membrane is the skin of the cell. Sometimes, part of the membrane detaches from the rest of the cell, forming what is known as a bleb, a fluid-filled blister like those in our feet. In fact, invasive cancer cells, among others, employ these blisters to move in confined and slippery environments. In our study, we found that membrane peeling, a process akin to peeling a fruit’s skin off, governs the spontaneous appearance of blebs. This implies that the binding properties of the molecules that keep the membrane attached, instead of the energy of forming a blister as thought hitherto, determine bleb formation. Therefore, our results change the current understanding of how blebs can be produced and could inspire new strategies to hinder the motion of cancer cells.