Lamellipodium

"Lamellipodia" redirects here. For the copepod genus with the synonym "Lamellipodia", see Epischura.

The lamellipodium (pl.: lamellipodia) (from Latin lamella, related to lamina, "thin sheet", and the Greek radical pod-, "foot") is a cytoskeletal protein actin projection on the leading edge of the cell. It contains a quasi-two-dimensional actin mesh; the whole structure propels the cell across a substrate.[1] Within the lamellipodia are ribs of actin called microspikes, which, when they spread beyond the lamellipodium frontier, are called filopodia.[2] The lamellipodium is born of actin nucleation in the plasma membrane of the cell[1] and is the primary area of actin incorporation or microfilament formation of the cell.

  1. ^ a b Alberts, Bruce; Johnson, Alexander; Lewis, Julian; Raff, Martin; Roberts, Keith; Walter, Peter (2002). Molecular Biology of the Cell (4th ed.). New York, NY: Garland Science. pp. 908, 931, 973–975. ISBN 978-0-8153-3218-3.
  2. ^ Small, J. Victor; Stradal, Theresia; Vignal, Emmanuel; Rottner, Klemens (2002). "The lamellipodium: where motility begins". Trends in Cell Biology. 12 (3): 112–120. doi:10.1016/S0962-8924(01)02237-1. PMID 11859023.