dictyNews
Electronic Edition
Volume 46, number 18
July 3, 2020
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Abstracts
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Dictyostelium Cell Fixation: Two Simple Tricks
Michael Koonce, Irina Tikhonenko and Ralph Gräf
Wadsworth Center, (US) and the University of Potsdam (Germany)
Methods Protoc., in press
https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9279/3/3/47
We share two simple modifications to enhance the fixation and
imaging of relatively small, motile, and rounded model cells.
These include cell centrifugation and the addition of trace amounts
of glutaraldehyde to existing fixation methods. Though they need
to be carefully considered in each context, they have been useful
to our studies of the spatial relationships of the microtubule
cytoskeletal system.
submitted by: Michael Koonce [[log in to unmask]]
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Seeing around corners: Cells solve mazes and respond at a
distance using attractant breakdown
Luke Tweedy, Peter A. Thomason, Peggy I. Paschke, Kirsty
Martin, Laura M. Machesky, Michele Zagnoni, Robert H. Insall
Science, in press
During development and metastasis, cells can migrate large
distances through complex environments, guided by
chemoattractants. Simple gradients between a source and sink
cannot guide cells over such long ranges. Here, we describe how
cells can navigate accurately through tortuous, branched paths
using gradients they create by locally degrading attractant. Such
self-generated gradients allow single cells to make accurate
choices at branches, essentially allowing them to see around
corners. This allows cells to solve complex mazes with remarkable
efficiency. Accuracy is controlled by attractant diffusivity, cell
speed, and path complexity; inappropriate combinations of these
parameters can actively misdirect cells in mathematically predictable
ways. We propose that self-generated gradients impact many long-
range migratory processes, including inflammation and germ cell
migration, where path complexity and length require them.
submitted by: Robert Insall [[log in to unmask]]
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[End dictyNews, volume 46, number 18]
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