Molecular mechanisms underlying cell-in-cell formation:core machineries and beyond

摘要

Although cell-in-cell structures(CICs),with one or more cells present inside another cell,had been identified for a century,it was not until recent years that scientists started to uncover their pivotal roles in multiple biological processes,primarily via mediating the death of internalized cells.Meanwhile,considerable progresses were made on deciphering the mechanisms underlying their formation based on different models.Entosis was one of the best investigated CIC models,where cell internalization was coordinately driven by adherens junction and contractile ac-tomyosin,the two spatially polarized and complementary core elements that were coupled by mechanical ring,a recently identified core element.Meanwhile,an expanding group of factors were found capable of regulating CIC formation by targeting these core elements.The elucidation of the molecular machinery controlling CIC formation enables synthetic engineering of cells used for clinical and research purposes。