title: Optotaxis: Caged Lysophosphatidic Acid Enables Optical Control of a Chemotactic Gradient.
abstract: Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a serum-borne lipid mediator that binds to a variety of different G protein-coupled receptors to trigger an exceptionally wide range of biological effects, including cell survival and differentiation, cancer cell migration, and embryonic development. Here we synthesized caged LPA (cgLPA), a "photolysable" coumarin-masked derivative of LPA. We demonstrate that illumination of cgLPA with 405 nm light liberates bioactive LPA on a subsecond scale to evoke Ca(2+) signaling, Rho activation, and cytoskeletal contraction. In addition, we developed an "optotaxis" assay to attract melanoma cells through a stable chemotactic gradient by repeated liberation of LPA through local photolysis of extracellular cgLPA. We expect that this method of light-controlled chemotaxis will be generally applicable to a large variety of small molecules that drive cellular migration or other responses.
authors.affiliation: Cell Biology & Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hövelmann
authors.affiliation: Division of Cell Biology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Katarzyna M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Kedziora
authors.affiliation: Cell Biology & Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nadler
authors.affiliation: Cell Biology & Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Division of Cell Biology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Kees
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jalink
authors.affiliation: Cell Biology & Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: schultz@embl.de.
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schultz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000528:radiation effects; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D008246:Lysophospholipids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D008545:Melanoma / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice
chemical_list: D008246:Lysophospholipids; C032881:lysophosphatidic acid; D002118:Calcium