ABSTRACT
Cell migration plays a critical role in a diverse array of processes both in physiological conditions and in pathological situations. In developing embryos, the coordinated movement of cells of different origin, over short and long distance paths, is fundamental for organogenesis, as defects at all stages of such a cooperative migration lead to severe embryonic malformations, resulting in drastic overall consequences [220]. In adult organisms, cell movement is instead essential in wound healing, where epidermal tissues are repaired by the progressive extension of tongues of epidermal cells, which completely close the lesions, as well as in the cases of inflammations. On the other hand, cell migration is involved in chronic inflammatory diseases and artheriosclerosis, and is responsible for the primary dissemination of tumors and its following metastatization [337]. It is also important in biomedical engineering applications, where bioactive scaffolds act as physical support structures and insoluble regulators for cell activity (i.e., adhesion, growth, and differentiation) in in vivo or in vitro regenerations of various tissues, such as cartilage, skin, or peripheral nerves [63, 178, 373, 418].
