Methods for quantitation of leukocyte chemotaxis and fugetaxis

Chemoattraction and chemorepulsion are complex directional responses of a cell to external chemotactic stimuli. The decision of a cell to move towards or away from a chemokinetic source includes detection and quantitation of the gradient of the chemotactic agent, biochemical transmission of the stimulus, and translation into a directional migration. This chapter describes a number of in vitro and in vivo assays that can be used to generate and measure both chemoattraction and chemorepulsion of leucocytes. These tools may eventually allow the further characterisation of the mechanism of this complex and physiologically and pathologically important phenomenon.