FIGURE 2.

Microtubule function during leukocyte migration in environments of different complexity. Microtubule depletion leads to uncoordinated actomyosin activation, yet with different consequences on cell shape and coherence depending on the geometry of the cell’s surrounding. Oscillating myosin activation across the cortex yields in uncoordinated and unstable polarization in 2D while in linear channels (1D) leukocytes maintain their polarized shape. In complex 3D environments, microtubules mediate the coordination of multiple competing protrusions (Renkawitz et al., 2019; Kopf et al., 2020). Disruption of microtubule integrity impairs protrusion-retraction dynamics of competing extensions resulting in loss of cell shape and induction of cell fragmentation.