Assaying cell-cell adhesion.
A major feature in Dictyostelium development is the transition from the unicellular to the multicellular stage, a process brought about by chemotaxis and cell-cell adhesion. Growth-phase cells are weakly cohesive, whereas aggregation-competent cells adhere strongly to each other. In addition, aggregating cells display an ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA)-resistant form of adhesion, which is developmentally regulated. Measuring cell-cell adhesion can thus be a simple and convenient method by which to assess the developmental progression of cells, to characterize mutants, and to discriminate between development and functional defects in cell adhesion molecules or membrane-cytoskeletal interactions. A quantitative cell adhesion assay is obviously crucial for identifying novel cell adhesion factors.
Bozzaro
Salvatore
S
Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, Torino, Italy.
D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000378:metabolism; D002449:Cell Aggregation; D004023:Dictyostelium / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D008027:Light; D012542:Scattering, Radiation
D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules