Kan Zhu

ElectroTaxis-on-a-Chip (ETC): an integrated quantitative high-throughput screening platform for electrical field-directe...

Published in Lab on a Chip

cAMP and cGMP Play an Essential Role in Galvanotaxis of Cell Fragments.

Published in Journal of Cellular Physiology

Cell fragments devoid of the nucleus and major organelles are found in physiology and pathology, for example platelets derived from megakaryocytes, and cell fragments from white blood cells and glioma cells. Platelets exhibit active chemotaxis. Fragments from white blood cells display chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and bactericidal functions. Signaling ...

Proinflammatory secreted phospholipase A2 type IIA (sPLA-IIA) induces integrin activation through direct binding to a ne...

Published in Journal of Biological Chemistry

Integrins are activated by signaling from inside the cell (inside-out signaling) through global conformational changes of integrins. We recently discovered that fractalkine activates integrins in the absence of CX3CR1 through the direct binding of fractalkine to a ligand-binding site in the integrin headpiece (site 2) that is distinct from the clas...

KCNJ15/Kir4.2 couples with polyamines to sense weak extracellular electric fields in galvanotaxis.

Published in Nature Communications

Weak electric fields guide cell migration, known as galvanotaxis/electrotaxis. The sensor(s) cells use to detect the fields remain elusive. Here we perform a large-scale screen using an RNAi library targeting ion transporters in human cells. We identify 18 genes that show either defective or increased galvanotaxis after knockdown. Knockdown of the ...

An Experimental Model for Simultaneous Study of Migration of Cell Fragments, Single Cells, and Cell Sheets.

Published in Methods in Molecular Biology

Recent studies have demonstrated distinctive motility and responses to extracellular cues of cells in isolation, cells collectively in groups, and cell fragments. Here we provide a protocol for generating cell sheets, isolated cells, and cell fragments of keratocytes from zebrafish scales. The protocol starts with a comprehensive fish preparation, ...