Research
We study how cells move and interact with their environment, with a particular focus on cancer, vascular biology and filopodia, using microscopy and quantitative image analysis.
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Cancer metastasis
We study how cancer cells spread through the body and establish themselves at distant sites.
Cancer caused an estimated 9.7 million deaths worldwide in 2022 (IARC).
Metastasis, the spread of cancer cells from a primary tumour to distant organs, is responsible for much of the mortality associated with solid cancers. We investigate the cellular mechanisms that allow cancer cells to migrate, interact with extracellular matrices and blood vessels, and complete the different steps of the metastatic cascade.
Selected papers
- Pancreatic cancer cells breach endothelial barriers through protrusion-driven invasion or endothelial retraction Open access
- MYO10-filopodia support basement membranes at pre-invasive tumor boundaries Open access
- Fast label-free live imaging with FlowVision reveals key principles of cancer cell arrest on endothelial monolayers Open access
Video: Cancer cells (purple) invade through collagen (green). © Guillaume Jacquemet and Emilia Peuhu
Cell migration
We investigate the molecular machinery that allows cells to move.
Cell migration is essential for embryonic development, tissue maintenance, immune surveillance and wound healing, but it also contributes to cancer invasion and metastasis.
Migrating cells continuously interact with their surroundings. We study how adhesion receptors such as integrins, together with the cytoskeleton and adhesion complexes, allow cells to sense extracellular cues, generate force and change direction.
Selected papers
- Myosin-X and talin modulate integrin activity at filopodia tips Open access
- Myosin-X recruits lamellipodin to filopodia tips Open access
- Cell matrix adhesion in cell migration Open access
Video: Cancer cell (green) migrating on cell-derived matrices (magenta). © Guillaume Jacquemet
How cancer and immune cells interact with blood vessels
We study how cancer cells and immune cells interact with the vascular endothelium.
These interactions influence how cancer cells arrest in the circulation, cross vessel walls and enter new tissues. We use microfluidic systems to reproduce defined aspects of blood flow and endothelial barriers in vitro, allowing us to image these events with high spatial and temporal resolution.
We complement these experiments with transparent zebrafish embryos, where we can observe cell–vessel interactions in a living organism. As part of the Research Council of Finland Centre of Excellence IMMENs, we also investigate immune–endothelial interactions and lymphatic vessels.
Selected papers
- TLNRD1 is a CCM complex component and regulates endothelial barrier integrity Open access
- Fast label-free live imaging with FlowVision reveals key principles of cancer cell arrest on endothelial monolayers Open access
- Pancreatic cancer cells breach endothelial barriers through protrusion-driven invasion or endothelial retraction Open access
Image: A cancer cell (magenta) inside the vasculature of a zebrafish embryo. © Ilkka Paatero and Guillaume Jacquemet
Filopodia
We study how filopodia allow cells to explore and respond to their surroundings.
Filopodia are thin, actin-rich protrusions that cells use to probe their environment. They contain specialised adhesion and signalling machinery and can influence cell migration, invasion and interactions with extracellular matrices.
We investigate how filopodia are assembled, how proteins are organised within them, and how they contribute to cancer-cell behaviour and tissue invasion.
Selected papers
- Filopodia-mediated trans-endocytosis Open access
- CCT8 associates with the MYO10 motor domain and regulates filopodia and breast cancer cell invasion Open access
- Filopodome Mapping Identifies p130Cas as a Mechanosensitive Regulator of Filopodia Stability Open access
Image: Cancer cell labelled for F-actin. © Guillaume Jacquemet
Image analysis
We develop image-analysis tools to extract quantitative information from microscopy data.
Modern microscopy can generate large, complex datasets that are difficult to analyse reproducibly. We develop and contribute to open tools for segmentation, tracking, image registration, super-resolution microscopy and high-dimensional data exploration.
Many of these tools are designed for biologists who do not routinely program, while remaining flexible enough for more advanced workflows.
See our software and the datasets and models we share.
Selected papers
- DL4MicEverywhere: deep learning for microscopy made flexible, shareable and reproducible Open access
- CellTracksColab is a platform that enables compilation, analysis, and exploration of cell tracking data Open access
- NucleiSky enables cross-scale multimodal registration of microscopy data using nuclei constellations Open access
- TrackMate 7: integrating state-of-the-art segmentation algorithms into tracking pipelines Open access
Image: Time projection illustrating the dynamics of focal adhesions in human endothelial cells. © Martina Lerche and Guillaume Jacquemet
Explore our featured research Browse all our publications Watch our online talks