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CBP7 Interferes with the Multicellular Development of Dictyostelium Cells by Inhibiting Chemoattractant-Mediated Cell
Byeonggyu Park1, Dong-Yeop Shin1, Taeck Joong Jeon1
1Department of Biology & BK21- Plus Research Team for Bioactive Control Technology, College of Natural Sciences, Chosun University, Gwangju 61452, Korea.
Insights
Calcium ions regulate cellular processes. This study shows Calcium Binding Protein 7 (CBP7) in Dictyostelium inhibits cell aggregation and migration by affecting calcium levels, impacting development.
Area of Science:
- Cellular Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Calcium ions are crucial for regulating numerous cellular functions.
- Fourteen calcium binding proteins (CBPs) have been identified in Dictyostelium.
- CBP7, a 169-amino acid protein with four EF-hand motifs, is one of these CBPs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the function of CBP7 in Dictyostelium development and cell migration.
- To elucidate the mechanism by which CBP7 influences cellular processes.
Main Methods:
- Gene expression analysis of CBP7.
- Observation of Dictyostelium development and cell aggregation.
- Chemotaxis assays to assess directed cell migration.
- Measurement of cytosolic free calcium levels.
- Analysis of cell spreading and cell-substrate adhesion.
Main Results:
- Overexpression of CBP7 negatively impacts Dictyostelium cell aggregation during development.
- CBP7 overexpression completely abolishes chemotactic ability towards cAMP.
- Cells overexpressing CBP7 exhibit reduced cytosolic free calcium levels.
- Dictyostelium cells lacking CBP7 show normal development and chemotaxis.
- CBP7 plays a role in cell spreading and cell-substrate adhesion, with null cells showing decreased adhesion and size.
Conclusions:
- CBP7 acts as a negative regulator of chemoattractant-directed cell migration and development in Dictyostelium.
- Reduced cytosolic free calcium in CBP7-overexpressing cells likely underlies their impaired chemotaxis.
- CBP7 is essential for proper cell spreading and cell-substrate adhesion, influencing Dictyostelium development.
Abstract:
Calcium ions are involved in the regulation of diverse cellular processes. Fourteen genes encoding calcium binding proteins have been identified in Dictyostelium. CBP7, one of the 14 CBPs, is composed of 169 amino acids and contains four EF-hand motifs. Here, we investigated the roles of CBP7 in the development and cell migration of Dictyostelium cells and found that high levels of CBP7 exerted a negative effect on cells aggregation during development, possibly by inhibiting chemoattractant-directed cell migration. While cells lacking CBP7 exhibited normal development and chemotaxis similar that of wild-type cells, CBP7 overexpressing cells completely lost their chemotactic abilities to move toward increasing cAMP concentrations. This resulted in inhibition of cellular aggregation, a process required for forming multicellular organisms during development. Low levels of cytosolic free calcium were observed in CBP7 overexpressing cells, which was likely the underlying cause of their lack of chemotaxis. Our results demonstrate that CBP7 plays an important role in cell spreading and cell-substrate adhesion. cbp7 null cells showed decreased cell size and cell-substrate adhesion. The present study contributes to further understanding the role of calcium signaling in regulation of cell migration and development.
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