Abstract
The survival of Dictyostelium cells depends on their ability to efficiently chemotax, either towards food or to form multicellular aggregates. Although the involvement of Ca 2+ signaling during chemotaxis is well known, it is not clear how this regulates cell movement. Previously, fish epithelial keratocytes have been shown to display transient increases in intracellular calcium ([Ca 2+] i) that are mediated by stretch-activated calcium channels (SACs), which play a role in retraction of the cell body [J. Lee, A. Ishihara, G. Oxford, B. Johnson, and K. Jacobson, Regulation of cell movement is mediated by stretch-activated calcium channels. Nature, 1999. 400(6742): p. 382–6.]. To investigate the involvement of SACs in Dictyostelium movement we performed high resolution calcium imaging in wild-type (NC4A2) Dictyostelium cells to detect changes in [Ca 2+] i. We observed small, brief, Ca 2+ transients in randomly moving wild-type cells that were dependent on both intracellular and extracellular sources of calcium. Treatment of cells with the SAC blocker gadolinium (Gd 3+) inhibited transients and decreased cell speed, consistent with the involvement of SACs in regulating Dictyostelium motility. Additional support for SAC activity was given by the increase in frequency of Ca 2+ transients when Dictyostelium cells were moving on a more adhesive substratum or when they were mechanically stretched. We conclude that mechano-chemical signaling via SACs plays a major role in maintaining the rapid movement of Dictyostelium cells.
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