bims-migras 2025-07-27 papers

Issue of 2025–07–27
five papers selected by
Cliff Dominy

Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2025 Jul 22.

Migrasomes: A Novel Target for Cancer Treatment.

Protrusion and adhesion occur at the foremost point of cells during cell migration, while contraction and detachment occur at the rear of the cells. The combined action of cytoskeletal dynamics, vesicular trafficking, and signaling networks initiates this multistep process. The development of a novel exosome-like organelle called migrasomes, which may play roles in intercellular signaling, and which originate from retraction fibers at the back of migrating cells. Migrasomes are a particular kind of extracellular vesicle that is placed by a special mechanism and left behind by migrating cells. The proteins called integrins, which connect cells to the extracellular matrix (ECM), regulate the mobilization of migrasome. The function of migrasomes is to preserve cellular homeostasis and communication between cells. By observing this literature, we attempted to ascertain the potential role that migrasomes will play in the future in illnesses involving migrating cells, like immune system problems, tumor metastasis, and other disorders.

Keywords: Contraction; detachment; immune systems; migrasomes; retraction fibers; tumors.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2174/0115680096359140250324085405

Sci China Life Sci. 2025 Jul 18.

A decade of discovery: tracing the footmarks of migrasomes, unveiling the footprints of cells.

Peiyao Fan, Yang Chen.

The study of migrasomes, a newly discovered cellular structure, holds great potential for uncovering unknown cellular and molecular mechanisms in intercellular communication and disease processes. Migrasomes, with diameters ranging from 500 nm to 3 µm, form at the cell tail during migration and are subsequently released extracellularly. Their biogenesis involves site determination, membrane swelling and expansion. Migrasomes contain a diverse array of constituents, including nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, nanovesicles, viral particles, and organelles. Migrasomes offer a window into understanding the altered cellular or tissue states, providing novel mechanisms for understanding their physiological and pathological processes. Migrasome detection holds promise for diagnostic applications. The interdisciplinary nature of migrasome research highlights the need for continued integration of cutting-edge technologies, such as multi-omics, advanced microscopy, and bioengineering, to fully explore their biological significance and therapeutic potential.

Keywords: in vivo imaging; cargo sorting; migrasome; multi-omics; pathological function

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-024-2883-2

J Am Chem Soc. 2025 Jul 24.

Counterion-Driven Long-Term Imaging of Cell Membranes and Migrasomes Using Dicationic NIR AIEgens.

Ziyue Ye, Chengpeng Qiu, Zonghang Liu, Haifei Wen, Feng Gao, Yue Zhang, Wen-Jin Wang, Jianquan Zhang, Zijie Qiu, Wan Zhang, Parvej Alam, Zheng Zhao, Ben Zhong Tang.

Tracking migrasome formation and dynamics is challenging due to the limited specificity and stability of existing membrane dyes for long-term imaging. Here, we develop a series of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) probes featuring a dicationic donor-π-acceptor structure (CDPP-2X) with NIR emission for selective long-term membrane and migrasome labeling. Among the synthesized (Z)-4-(4-(1-cyano-2-(4-(diphenylamino)phenyl)vinyl)phenyl)pyridine-1-ium (CDPP) derivatives, CDPP-2PF6 exhibited superior performance, with the PF6 counterion enhancing lipophilicity for dual-mode membrane anchoring via electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. This mechanism, combined with restricted intramolecular motion, enables strong fluorescence enhancement and up to 3 h of membrane retention. CDPP-2PF6 selectively accumulates in phosphoinositide-rich migrasomes within 5 min, showing a preferential and strong affinity for phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), a key lipid involved in migrasome biogenesis and cell migration. Comparative analyses with wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) and 3,3'-dioctadecyloxacarbocyanine perchlorate (DiO) confirm CDPP-2PF6's superior specificity and phospholipid-dependent localization. Pharmacological studies with blebbistatin and methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD) reveal that actin polymerization is essential for migrasome formation. At the same time, lipid microdomain integrity is crucial for both biogenesis and probe localization, as evidenced by the complete loss of fluorescence upon cholesterol depletion. Confocal fluorescence lifetime imaging captures a distinctive fluorescence lifetime shift from 1.8 to 0.9 ns during migrasome formation, enabling real-time membrane remodeling tracking. CDPP-2PF6's sensitivity to phospholipid composition provides insights into lipid remodeling during migrasome formation and cell migration. These features establish CDPP-2PF6 as a robust platform for long-term membrane and migrasome imaging, offering new opportunities to investigate lipid remodeling, cellular signaling, and phospholipid-rich organelles in physiological and pathological processes.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c09607

Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 23. 15(1): 26760

Construction of a risk and prognostic model for migrasome-associated lncRNAs in renal cell carcinoma.

Liangwei Zhao, Fengjiao Geng, Xiaomin Ji, Chaoqun Geng, Tian Liu.

The migrasome, a recently identified cellular organelle, is closely associated with cell migration and plays a critical role in various physiological and pathological processes. The relationship between migrasomes and the prognosis of kidney cancer patients remains unclear. We utilized least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas- kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (TCGA-KIRC) dataset to identify migrasome-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) with prognostic significance in KIRC. We then developed and validated a prognostic risk model based on these lncRNAs. In addition, to identify potential immunotherapeutic agents, we analyzed tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion scores; we also conducted immune cell infiltration profiling. Risk score analysis identified 12 migrasome-related lncRNAs significantly associated with the prognosis of TCGA-KIRC patients. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that the prognostic model effectively stratified patients into high- and low-risk groups; the high-risk group showed a significantly worse prognosis relative to the low-risk group. Importantly, higher risk scores were associated with increased immune cell infiltration. This prognostic model underscores the importance of migrasome-related lncRNAs in KIRC and provides a novel tool for predicting patient prognosis and immune response in KIRC.

Keywords: KIRC; Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma; Migrasome; Prognostic model; lncRNA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-10630-w