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First published online July 23, 2007

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A PTEN corset?

Some cells are able to sense and move in response to chemical gradients. On p. 2517, David Soll and colleagues tease apart the mechanism of this so-called `chemotaxis' in the slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum – focusing on the role of its orthologue of the tumor suppressor PTEN (a lipid phosphatase). The researchers have compared the movements of pten^–and wild-type cells, using software they developed specifically for characterising cell behaviour. They use the software to make mathematical representations of stop-frame images of crawling cells and, from these, calculate parameters that best reveal the differences in the movement and shape of the mutant and wild-type cells. The pten^– cells move erratically in response to gradients of cyclic AMP. This, the authors say, is because the cells extend lateral pseudopods, causing them to turn inappropriately. But they were surprised to find that a lack of PTEN does not compromise the cells' ability to sense gradients or maintain polarity. They suggest that, rather than being involved in the sensing of chemical gradients, PTEN has a structural role in assembly of an actin-myosin cortical layer that restrains the extension of lateral pseudopods.

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Related articles in JCS:

PTEN plays a role in the suppression of lateral pseudopod formation during Dictyostelium motility and chemotaxis

Deborah Wessels, Daniel F. Lusche, Spencer Kuhl, Paul Heid, and David R. Soll
JCS 2007 120: 2517-2531. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?