Cell Homing
Cell Homing - Related Videos
10:40
Homing of Hematopoietic Cells to the Bone Marrow
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Cited by 15 •
2009
This article describes a protocol used to study the homing of hematopoietic cells to their niches in the bone marrow.
10:25
Competitive Homing Assays to Study Gut-tropic T Cell Migration
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Cited by 11 •
2011
Competitive homing experiments allow to directly assessing the migratory properties of two different cell populations in a single mouse. Here we illustrate this procedure by comparing the migration of ex vivo-generated gut-tropic versus non-gut tropic T cells.
07:42
Non-invasive Imaging of Leukocyte Homing and Migration in vivo
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Cited by 8 •
2010
Here, we describe a non-invasive two-photon (2P) microscopy approach to study leukocyte homing in the mouse footpad. We discuss the technical aspects of our tissue imaging preparation and walk the reader through a typical experiment from initial set up to execution and data collection.
07:45
Ultrasound-guided Intracardiac Injection of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Increase Homing to the Intestine for Use in Murine Models of Experimental Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
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Cited by 7 •
2017
Murine studies in models of colonic inflammation have demonstrated that a small percentage (1 - 5%) of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) injected intravenously or intraperitoneally home to the inflamed colon1,2. This study shows that ultrasound-guided intracardiac injections of MSCs result in increased localization to the intestine.
08:02
In Vivo Augmentation of Gut-Homing Regulatory T Cell Induction
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Cited by 1 •
2020
Here we present a protocol for in vivo augmentation of gut-homing regulatory T cell induction. In this protocol, dendritic cells are engineered to locally produce high concentrations of the active vitamin D (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D or 1,25[OH]2D) and the active vitamin A (retinoic acid or RA) de novo.
FAQs
Chemokine gradients provide directional information by creating differences in signal concentration across tissues or microenvironments. Cells respond through surface receptors that detect these signals and bias movement toward sites with the appropriate cues. This mechanism helps connect a tissue’s chemical environment with the arrival of particular cell populations, making chemokine patterns important for recruitment, localization, and subsequent cellular responses.
Adhesion molecules help cells interact with vascular components and remain associated with relevant tissue surfaces, while extracellular-matrix interactions support movement through surrounding tissue. Together with cell-surface receptors, these contacts influence whether cells can progress toward and remain within a target microenvironment. Their contribution is especially important when cells travel from circulation into a specific tissue.
Arrival alone does not determine the outcome of cell homing. Once cells encounter a target microenvironment, local signals can regulate their survival, differentiation, and function. Consequently, the quality of the destination matters as much as the ability to reach it. A tissue that provides suitable cues may support useful cellular activity, whereas different signals can produce different biological effects.
The underlying guidance principles can apply to several biological settings, but the context and consequence differ. Immune-cell trafficking concerns movement to tissues involved in immune activity, stem-cell recruitment relates to tissue repair and regeneration, and tumor dissemination concerns movement associated with disease spread. Comparing these settings shows how similar migration mechanisms can support beneficial, protective, or harmful outcomes.
A useful analysis follows the process from directional signaling to tissue interaction and cellular response. Researchers can consider the cues that attract cells, the receptors that detect them, the adhesion contacts that support movement through vessels or tissue, and the signals encountered after arrival. This sequence links migration with later effects on survival, differentiation, and function without treating localization as the endpoint.
Cell homing is relevant when regenerative strategies aim to improve the recruitment or targeted delivery of cells to damaged or otherwise appropriate tissues. The process helps explain how stem cells may be directed toward repair-associated environments and how local cues could influence their persistence and activity. Understanding these relationships may support approaches designed to enhance regeneration rather than relying only on cell placement.
Studying cell homing can show how diseased tissues attract or retain particular cell populations. Those patterns provide context for tissue-specific signaling, cellular accumulation, and changes in local microenvironments. In cancer biology, the same framework helps clarify tumor dissemination, while in other disease settings it can help distinguish recruitment linked to repair from recruitment associated with pathological progression.