This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: biophysj.105.080382v1 91/12/4638    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sengupta, K. Articles by Hammer, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sengupta, K. Articles by Hammer, D.

Spreading of Neutrophils: From Activation to Migration

Kheya Sengupta ^* , Helim Aranda-Espinoza , Lee Smith , Paul Janmey ^* and Daniel Hammer  

^* Institute for Medicine and Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Institut für Schichten und Grenzflächen–IV, Biologische Schichten, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, D-52425 Jülich, Germany

Correspondence: Address reprint requests to Kheya Sengupta, E-mail: k.sengupta{at}fz-juelich.de; or Daniel Hammer, E-mail: hammer{at}seas.upenn.edu.

Neutrophils rely on rapid changes in morphology to ward off invaders. Time-resolved dynamics of spreading human neutrophils after activation by the chemoattractant fMLF (formyl methionyl leucyl phenylalanine) was observed by RICM (reflection interference contrast microscopy). An image-processing algorithm was developed to identify the changes in the overall cell shape and the zones of close contact with the substrate. We show that in the case of neutrophils, cell spreading immediately after exposure of fMLF is anisotropic and directional. The dependence of spreading area, A, of the cell as a function of time, t, shows several distinct regimes, each of which can be fitted as power laws (A t^b). The different spreading regimes correspond to distinct values of the exponent b and are related to the adhesion state of the cell. Treatment with cytochalasin-B eliminated the anisotropy in the spreading.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A.-S. Smith, K. Sengupta, S. Goennenwein, U. Seifert, and E. Sackmann Force-induced growth of adhesion domains is controlled by receptor mobility PNAS, May 13, 2008; 105(19): 6906 - 6911. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Limozin and K. Sengupta Modulation of Vesicle Adhesion and Spreading Kinetics by Hyaluronan Cushions Biophys. J., November 1, 2007; 93(9): 3300 - 3313. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]