Project Details
Description
Cells of Dictyostelium discoideum are single amoeboid phagocytes.
During the vegetative stage cells are chemotactic toward folic acid
and during the aggregative stage toward extracellular cAMP. This
cell is widely used as a model for amoeboid chemotaxis. From a
number of studies it is clear that actin polymerization is
stimulated by chemoattractant and that this is temporally
correlated with pseudopod extension toward the source of
chemoattractant. The general goal of this proposal is to determine how chemotactic
stimulation is coupled to actin polymerization. We will
investigate this by developing in vitro assays for ligand
stimulated actin polymerization that is physiologically relevant
to chemotaxis. We will then use these assays to investigate the
molecular mechanism of coupling of actin polymerization to
stimulation with chemoattractant. This investigation will include
experiments using drugs and antibodies to modulate in vitro
activity and eventual isolation of the ligand stimulated nucleation
activity for actin polymerization.
Status | Finished |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 12/31/89 → 12/31/09 |
ASJC
- Cell Biology
- Genetics
- Medicine(all)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
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