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Assessment of Dictyostelium discoideum Response to Acute Mechanical Stimulation
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Differentiation-inducing factor-1 and -2 function also as modulators for Dictyostelium chemotaxis.

Hidekazu Kuwayama1, Yuzuru Kubohara

  • 1Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.

Plos One
|August 18, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Differentiation-Inducing Factors (DIFs) modulate cell movement in Dictyostelium. DIF-1 suppresses chemotaxis, while DIF-2 enhances it, revealing new roles for these signaling molecules in cell behavior.

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Area of Science:

  • Cellular and Molecular Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Chemotaxis toward cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is crucial for Dictyostelium discoideum multicellular development.
  • Signaling molecules like G-protein-coupled receptors and cyclic nucleotides regulate cytoskeletal dynamics during chemotaxis.
  • Differentiation-Inducing Factors (DIF-1 and DIF-2) were known to induce stalk cell differentiation but their other physiological roles were unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of DIF-1 and DIF-2 on Dictyostelium chemotaxis.
  • To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying DIF-mediated modulation of chemotaxis.
  • To determine if chemotaxis modulation by DIFs involves distinct pathways from those of differentiation induction.

Main Methods:

  • Investigated the impact of DIF-1 and DIF-2 on Dictyostelium chemotaxis under varying cAMP gradient conditions.
  • Utilized various mutant strains, including phosphodiesterase (GbpB, RegA) and transcription factor (DimA, DimB) null mutants.
  • Measured intracellular cyclic guanosine monophosphate ([cGMP](i)) concentrations.

Main Results:

  • DIF-1 suppressed chemotaxis in shallow cAMP gradients, while DIF-2 significantly promoted it.
  • DIF-1's suppression of chemotaxis appears to involve GbpB and a decrease in [cGMP](i).
  • DIF-2's enhancement of chemotaxis appears to involve RegA and an increase in [cGMP](i).
  • Mechanisms for chemotaxis modulation by DIFs differ from those for differentiation induction, as shown by DimA/DimB null mutants.

Conclusions:

  • DIF-1 and DIF-2 act as negative and positive modulators of Dictyostelium chemotaxis, respectively.
  • This study reports the first known small molecules with both differentiation-inducing and chemotaxis-modulating activities in any organism.
  • These findings expand the known physiological functions of DIFs beyond differentiation induction.