Identification of the molecular pathways that drive and steer pseudopods

许多细胞能够在固体表面上非常缓慢地爬行，或者在组织中挖洞。它们通常被吸引它们的化学物质引导，这样，它们就可以发挥有用的作用。例如，白色血细胞被无意中释放的化学物质所吸引，然后被细菌吞噬并摧毁。同样，变形虫被细菌吸引，然后作为食物食用。运动的第一步是在行进的方向上做投射--一个伪足。这种伪足可以在细胞周围的任何地方形成，并由微型马达驱动，该马达使用与肌肉相同的一些组件。伪足形成的位置在某种程度上取决于细胞周围有吸引力的化学物质的浓度。这项工作的目的是了解更多关于伪足是如何在正确的位置产生的，以便细胞向有吸引力的化学物质移动。

Many cells are able to crawl very slowly over a solid surface or burrow their way through a tissue. Often they are guided by chemicals that attract them and in this way, they can perform a useful purpose. For instance white blood cells are attracted by chemicals inadvertently released bacteria, which they then engulf and destroy. Similarly, amoebae are attracted to bacteria, which they then consume as food. The first step in movement is to make projection - a pseudopod - in the direction of travel. This pseudopod can form anywhere around the cell and is driven out by tiny motor which uses some of the same components as muscle. The position where the pseudopod does form is somehow governed by the concentration of attractive chemical around the cell. The aim of the work proposed here is to learn more about how a pseudopod is produced in the right place so that the cell moves towards an attractive chemical.