Chemotaxis is the movement of cells in response to chemical signals. It plays a role in biological processes such as fertilization and fighting infection. Chemotaxis research explores how cells move and what disrupts these processes. Chemicals can attract or repel cells, and errors in chemotaxis can lead to birth defects or disease. Researchers study these processes to develop treatments for injury and disease.
Chemotaxis is the movement of small organisms and individual cells in response to chemical signals in the surrounding environment. This plays a role in a number of biological processes, from fertilization to fighting infection. Chemotaxis research includes exploring how small organisms move, when they respond to chemical signals, and what can disrupt these processes. Researchers work in microbiology laboratories with access to high-resolution microscopy and other tools to study processes occurring at a very minute level.
In chemotaxis, single cells, unicellular organisms, and small multicellular organisms respond to chemicals by moving toward or away from them. They have receptors that are sensitive to particular chemicals of interest or concern so they can respond to them, using a variety of movement techniques. Chemoattractants are chemicals that tend to increase the desire to approach a certain chemical source, while chemopellents encourage organisms or cells to move in the opposite direction.
Sexual reproduction relies on chemotaxis to allow sperm to migrate to an egg, following the chemoattractants produced by the egg so it can complete fertilization. During fetal development, chemotaxis also plays a role in the movement of cells as the organism develops; budding nerve cells, for example, begin spreading out to map the nervous system. Errors in this process can lead to birth defects or miscarriages if the growing fetus develops abnormalities incompatible with life.
The immune system uses cells such as neutrophils and macrophages to detect and neutralize infectious organisms, relying on chemotaxis to smell the chemicals produced by these cells so that it can track them. Conversely, microorganisms may respond to chemorepellents in toxins to avoid them, moving further away from the chemicals until they reach a safe area. These two examples show how the process is used by individual cells and whole organisms to navigate their environment, relying on chemical cues to decide how, when and where to move.
Chemicals can disrupt chemotaxis by confusing or disorienting cells, leading them to make mistakes. If cell motility is limited by environmental factors, this can also cause failures where organisms can move away from sources of nutrition or approach toxins. Problems with cell migration can also develop in situations such as nerve injury, where new growing cells attempting to replace damaged older cells may grow in the wrong direction due to orientation errors. Researchers are interested in learning more about these processes, as they may be important for treating injury and disease, as well as addressing infertility.
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