Topic summary
Podosomes
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Podosome.
Function
Podosomes are thought to be intimately connected to cellular motility within tissue microenvironments through coordinating degradation of the extracellular matrix with cellular movement. The migration of cells is essential to proper embryonic development and, in maturity, to wound healing and the inflammatory response. Examples of these motile cell behaviors include: transendothelial migration of dendritic cells, migration of aortic endothelial cells for arterial vessel remodeling, and tissue infiltration by macrophages. Aberrations in cell migration lie beneath pathologies involving development, vasculature, and immunity. Consequently, podosomes are present in cell types associated with tissue remodeling and the immune system.