Attractive guidance: How the chemokine SDF1/CXCL12 guides different cells to different locations

► Review of SDF1-guided cell migration. ► Discussion of the control of SDF1 through microRNAs and CXCR7. ► New model for dispersion of cells across a uniform SDF1 expression domain. During the development and adult life of multicellular organisms cells move from one location to another as they assemble into organs, seal a wound or fight pathogens. For navigation, migrating cells follow cues that guide them to their final position. Frequently, a single cue simultaneously guides different cells to different positions. Recent studies of one such cue—the chemokine SDF1—suggest strategies for how the animal achieves this task without causing erroneous migration.