Unmasking Plasma Membrane Blebbing

The eukaryotic cell plasma membrane is tightly connected to the underlying cytoskeletal network. When this close association is disrupted, the overlying plasma membrane detaches from the cortical actin and bulges out due to intracellular hydrostatic pressure-driven cytosolic fluid and lipids flow resulting in the formation of spherical, blister-like protrusions called blebs. Membrane blebs have been observed during normal biological and pathophysiological conditions including apoptosis, cytokinesis, and embryogenesis and cancer metastasis. Cell migration via membrane blebbing is fundamentally different from the lamellipodial-based mesenchymal migration that is characterized by actin filament polymerization. The aim of this review is to provide a general overview of the concept of plasma membrane blebbing. How cells utilize membrane blebs for motility as well as recent findings on the molecular regulators of bleb formation is discussed. A description of different processes and conditions in which membrane blebbing is utilized is also highlighted.

Author(s): Godwin A Ponuwei

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