Dictyostelium amoebae and neutrophils can swim
- PMID:20534502
- PMCID: PMC2895083
- DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1006327107
Dictyostelium amoebae and neutrophils can swim
Abstract
Animal cells migrating over a substratum crawl in amoeboid fashion; how the force against the substratum is achieved remains uncertain. We find that amoebae and neutrophils, cells traditionally used to study cell migration on a solid surface, move toward a chemotactic source while suspended in solution. They can swim and do so with speeds similar to those on a solid substrate. Based on the surprisingly rapidly changing shape of amoebae as they swim and earlier theoretical schemes for how suspended microorganisms can migrate (Purcell EM (1977) Life at low Reynolds number. Am J Phys 45:3-11), we suggest the general features these cells use to gain traction with the medium. This motion requires either the movement of the cell's surface from the cell's front toward its rear or protrusions that move down the length of the elongated cell. Our results indicate that a solid substratum is not a prerequisite for these cells to produce a forward thrust during movement and suggest that crawling and swimming are similar processes, a comparison we think is helpful in understanding how cells migrate.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Comment in
- Cell motility: Swimming skills.Swami M.Swami M.Nat Rev Cancer. 2010 Aug;10(8):530-1. doi: 10.1038/nrc2891.Nat Rev Cancer. 2010.PMID:20677350No abstract available.
- On the swimming of Dictyostelium amoebae.Bae AJ, Bodenschatz E.Bae AJ, et al.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Nov 2;107(44):E165-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1011900107. Epub 2010 Oct 4.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010.PMID:20921382Free PMC article.No abstract available.
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