Front-biased activation of the Ras-Rab5-Rac1 loop coordinates collective cell migration

Collective cell migration is coordinated by the front-to-rear intercellular propagation of EGFR-Ras-ERK pathway activation. However, the molecular mechanisms integrating front-to-rear information into this intercellular signaling cascade, particularly the determinants of cellular front-side specification, remain elusive. We visualized the activity of EGFR, Ras, Rac1 and Rab5A (hereafter Rab5) by using FRET biosensors and chemogenetic tools. Whereas EGFR activation was uniformly observed within cells, Ras activation was biased to the front side within cells. The polarized Ras activation depended on Merlin and Rac1, which also showed front-biased activation. Furthermore, Rab5, a crucial regulator of cell migration, demonstrated similar front-biased activation and was found to function downstream of Ras while being necessary for Rac1 activation. Thus, the positive feedback loop consisting of Ras, Rab5 and Rac1 is activated primarily at the front of collectively migrating cells. These findings offer new spatio-temporal insight into processing front–rear information during collective cell migration.