Abstract
Cyclic AMP (cAMP) is a natural chemoattractant of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. It is detected by cell surface cAMP receptors. Besides a signalling cascade involving phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3), Ca2+ signalling has been shown to have a major role in chemotaxis. Previously, we have shown that arachidonic acid (AA) induces an increase in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration by causing the release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores and activating influx of extracellular Ca2+. Here we report that AA is a chemoattractant for D. discoideum cells differentiated for 8–9 h. Motility towards a glass capillary filled with an AA solution was dose-dependent and qualitatively comparable to cAMP-induced chemotaxis. Ca2+ played an important role in AA chemotaxis of wild-type Ax2 as ethyleneglycolbis(b-aminoethyl)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) added to the extracellular buffer strongly inhibited motility. In the HM1049 mutant whose iplA gene encoding a putative Ins(1,4,5)P3-receptor had been knocked out, chemotaxis was only slightly affected by EGTA. Chemotaxis in the presence of extracellular Ca2+ was similar in both strains. Unlike cAMP, addition of AA to a cell suspension did not change cAMP or cGMP levels. A model for AA chemotaxis based on the findings in this and previous work is presented.
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This work was carried out at the University of Konstanz, Department of Biology, Universitaetstr.10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.
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Schaloske, R.H., Blaesius, D., Schlatterer, C. et al. Arachidonic acid is a chemoattractant for Dictyostelium discoideum cells. J. Biosci. 32 (Suppl 3), 1281–1289 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-007-0137-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-007-0137-6