dictyNews
Electronic Edition
Volume 38, number 12
April 27, 2012

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Abstracts
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Non-Brownian dynamics and strategy of amoeboid cell locomotion

Nishimura, SI, Ueda, M and Sasai, M


Physical Review E 85, 041909 (2012)

Amoeboid cells such as Dictyostelium discoideum and Madin-Darby 
canine kidney cells show the non-Brownian dynamics of migration 
characterized by the superdiffusive increase of mean-squared 
displacement. In order to elucidate the physical mechanism of this 
non-Brownian dynamics, a computational model is developed which 
highlights a group of inhibitorymolecules for actin polymerization. Based 
on this model, we propose a hypothesis that inhibitory molecules are sent 
backward in the moving cell to accumulate at the rear of cell. The 
accumulated inhibitory molecules at the rear further promote cell locomotion 
to form a slow positive feedback loop of the whole-cell scale. The persistent 
straightforward migration is stabilized with this feedback mechanism, but the 
fluctuation in the distribution of inhibitory molecules and the cell shape 
deformation concurrently interrupt the persistent motion to turn the cell into 
a new direction. A sequence of switching behaviors between persistent 
motions and random turns gives rise to the superdiffusive migration in the 
absence of the external guidance signal. In the complex environment with 
obstacles, this combined process of persistent motions and random turns 
drives the simulated amoebae to solve the maze problem in a highly 
efficient way, which suggests the biological advantage for cells to bear 
the non-Brownian dynamics.

Other information:  Some movies (which are not included in the supporting 
material  of this paper) are available on youtube!  
http://www.youtube.com/user/AmoebaSimulator


Submitted by Shin I.Nishimura [[log in to unmask]]
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BOOK CHAPTER

Aiko Amagai
Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University Japan 

Regulatory Mechanism in Sexual and Asexual Cycles of Dictyostelium 

p327-344, chapter 15 
in ADVANCES IN SELECTED PLANT PHYSIOLOGY ASPECTS
Edited by Giuseppe Montanaro and Bartolomeo Dichio 
Publisher: InTech, April, 2012
ISBN 978-953-51-0557-2
Hard cover, 388 pages


Submitted by Aiko Amagai [[log in to unmask]]
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[End dictyNews, volume 38, number 12]