New York – Cells have the need to change shape in order to perform a series of functions, including the exploration of the surrounding environment and the communication with other cells. A typical example is the formation of protrusions (blebs) of the plasma membrane that can be observed during embryogenesis, in the course of cell division, and during the invasion of cancerous cells. It is always assumed that the formation of these protrusions happen at constant volume, imagining the cell like a balloon full of water. In the article “Volume fluctuations during bleb formation in zebrafish primordial germ cells”, published in Physical Review Letters, an international team, coordinated by Caterina La Porta of the Department of Biosciences within the University of Milan, has shown instead that the volume will change significantly due to the exchange of water across the plasma membrane. The team involved other scientists from the University of Milan, the University of Geneva, the French CNRS and the ISI Foundation in Turin. (9Colonne)
