NeuroWebinar & Seminar
1 appointment per week, on Friday at 2.00 pm
**Hybrid seminar: both in presence (max 25 people in Seminar room) and on webex
Hybrid seminar
Tuesday 26/5/2026 h. 2.00 pm
Elena Scarpa
Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, UK.
Dynamic nucleus and cytoskeletal adaptations to tissue confinement in developmental cell migration
In vivo, cells often migrate through tight spaces, both in normal physiology and in disease. Landmark studies using in vitro cell culture models to mimic migration through tissues showed that cultured cells under physical confinement experience mechanical stress. This causes deformations of the nucleus, which in vitro also lead to loss of nucleus integrity and DNA damage. The consequences of confinement on developmental cell migration remain mostly unexplored, as these are difficult to both visualise and functionally dissect in vivo.
My team is now overcoming these challenges using the Zebrafish. Zebrafish embryos are translucent, allowing us to visualise and genetically or mechanically manipulate cells migrating in their native environment. My current research broadly focuses on two themes: understanding the consequences of nuclear deformation on long-lived multipotent stem cells, the neural crest; dissecting the cytoskeletal regulatory mechanisms underlying in vivo cell migration under confinement.
We have recently discovered that, despite encountering challenging environments in vivo that impose striking deformations on their nucleus, neural crest respond adaptively by reorganising their nuclear envelope composition, likely preventing DNA damage. Migrating neural crest engage a microtubule motor-driven program, akin to nucleokinesis of central nervous system neurons, to achieve efficient nuclear translocation through confinement in vivo. This suggests that microtubule-based nucleokinesis represents a fundamental strategy for navigating tissue confinement during both central and peripheral nervous system development. Together, our findings highlight the need for in vivo studies for a more complete understanding of migratory cell behaviours in native tissues.