Abstract
ABSTRACT The agents LaCl3, Ins(l,4,5)P3, TMB-8, chlortetracycline (CTC) and A23187 were used to study the requirement for internal calcium mobilization during gamete cell fusion in Dictyostelium discoideum. The inhibition of the influx of calcium (LaCl3) prevented cell fusion in a dose-dependent manner. At the intracellular level, Ins(l,4,5)P3, an endogenous regulator of calcium release from intracellular stores, stimulated cell fusion within one hour following its addition. Treatment with agents that prevent the release of calcium from intracellular stores (TMB-8, CTC) also inhibited cell fusion in a dose-dependent manner. However, the non-specific augmentation of cytosolic calcium levels through the use of the ionophore A23187 inhibited cell fusion, and the amount of inhibition was directly related to the drug concentration. Studies on cell morphology and growth plus results from reversibility experiments involving the ability to form macrocysts reveal that these effects are not due to non-specific drug toxicity. In total, these results suggest that the mobilization of calcium both from the extracellular environment and from intracellular stores is important and is probably regulated during gamete cell fusion in D. discoideum.
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