Membrane blebbing is required for mesenchymal precursor migration

Mesenchymal precursors (MPs) present some advantageous features, such as differentiation and migration, which make them promising candidates for cell therapy.A better understanding of MP migration characteristics would aid the development of cell delivery protocols.Traditionally, cell migration is thought to occur only through the formation of lamellipodia.More recently, contractilitydriven bleb formation has emerged as an alternative mechanism of motility.Here we report that MPs derived from different tissues present spontaneously dynamic cytoplasmic projections in subconfluent culture, which appear as a combination of lamellipodia with blebs in the leading edge.Upon initial seeding, however, only bleb structures could be observed.Immunofluorescence revealed the presence of pERM, RhoA and Factin during the blebbing process.Results from migration assays in the presence of blebbistatin, a myosin II inhibitor, showed that bleb formation correlated with migratory capacity, suggesting a functional role for blebs in migration.Bleb formation might be a useful mechanism to improve cell migration in cellular therapy protocols.