How cell membrane tension controls cell movement
Official title: Membrane tension as a long-range integrator of cell physiology
Funded at Ut Southwestern Medical Center · NIH-11481627 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are looking at how tension in cell membranes helps coordinate cell movement, which is important for immune responses, wound healing, and cancer spread.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Ut Southwestern Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Dallas, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2024 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $249,000 |
| NIH project number | 4R00GM154115-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11481627 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This is a laboratory-focused project that does not enroll patients, but its results are most relevant to people with conditions involving cell migration such as immune disorders, chronic wounds, or metastatic cancers.
✕Less likely to help
Because this is basic lab research rather than a treatment trial, patients should not expect direct clinical benefits from participation in this project.
What this research studies
The lab will use light-based tools to turn on and off internal cell forces and tiny optical traps to measure how membrane tension spreads across a cell. By watching how actin-driven protrusions and actomyosin contractions change tension, they aim to learn when tension acts locally versus across the whole cell. Experiments are done on cultured cells, including cells relevant to the immune system such as neutrophils. The findings will build a model of how cells use membrane tension to coordinate movement and signaling.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new ways to control immune cell movement, improve wound repair, or affect strategies to limit cancer cell spread.
How similar studies have gone: Prior lab studies have shown membrane tension matters for cell polarity, and combining optogenetics with direct tension measurements is a newer approach that builds on that work.
Where this research is happening
-
Ut Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: De Belly, Henry — Ut Southwestern Medical Center
- Study coordinator: De Belly, Henry
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.