Adaptive Pathfinding by Nucleokinesis during Amoeboid Migration

Abstract Motile cells moving in multicellular organisms encounter microenvironments of locally heterogeneous mechanochemical composition. Individual compositional parameters like chemotactic signals, adhesiveness, and pore sizes are well known to be sensed by motile cells, providing individual guidance cues for cellular pathfinding. However, motile cells encounter diverse mechanochemical signals at the same time, raising the question of how cells respond to locally diverse and potentially competing signals on their migration routes. Here, we reveal that motile amoeboid cells require nuclear repositioning, termed nucleokinesis, for adaptive pathfinding in heterogeneous mechanochemical microenvironments. Using mammalian immune cells and the amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum , we discover that frequent, rapid and long-distance nucleokinesis is a basic component of amoeboid pathfinding, enabling cells to reorientate quickly between locally competing cues. Amoeboid nucleokinesis comprises a two-step cell polarity switch and is driven by myosin II-forces, sliding the nucleus from a ‘losing’ to the ‘winning’ leading edge to re-adjust the nuclear to the cellular path. Impaired nucleokinesis distorts fast path adaptions and causes cellular arrest in the microenvironment. Our findings establish that nucleokinesis is required for amoeboid cell navigation. Given that motile single-cell amoebae, many immune cells, and some cancer cells utilize an amoeboid migration strategy, these results suggest that amoeboid nucleokinesis underlies cellular navigation during unicellular biology, immunity, and disease.