Filopodia Frenzy

What am I looking at?

This video shows a so-called HeLa cell. Click on the right arrow to see two additional, similar videos. In these particular HeLa cells, a cell membrane protein that encourages the development of filopodia has been labeled to make the thin tendrils more evident. The video is depth-coded for color, which means that cooler colors like green and purple are closer to the viewer and warmer colors like yellow and red are farther away from the viewer.

Biology in the background

Filopodia are specialized structures that extend from the cell membrane to allow a cell to explore the environment around it. These thin protrusions are full of a protein called actin, which, in combination with other proteins, allows the filopodia to grow and move around. Filopodia play a key role in cell movement and migration within the body, the growth of neurons, the healing of wounds, and much more.

While filopodia can change their size and shape, they are typically about 0.3 micrometers in diameter, or roughly 23 times smaller than the width of a human hair, and up to 70 micrometers long, or roughly the same dimension as the width of a human hair.

Technique

This video was created using confocal microscopy.