John Dallon: Paper Abstract
A Continuum Analysis of the
Chemotactic Signal Seen by Dictyostelium
discoideum
AUTHORS:
John C. Dallon 1 & Hans G. Othmer 2
1: Mathematics Institute,
University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
2: Department of Mathematics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
ABSTRACT:
We develop a mathematical model of cell-to-cell-signalling in
Dictyostelium discoideum that predicts the cAMP
signal seen by individual cells in early aggregation. The model
employs two cells on a plane and is designed to predict the space-time
characteristics of both the extracellular cAMP signal seen by
one cell when a nearby cell relays, and the intracellular
cAMP response produced by the stimulus in the receiving cell.
The effect of membrane bound phosphodiesterase is studied and it is
shown that cells can orient effectively even in its absence. Our
results give a detailed picture of how the spatio-temporal
characteristics of the extracellular signal can be transduced into a
time- and space-dependent intracellular gradient, and they suggest a
plausible mechanism for orientation in a natural chemotactic wave.
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