Raftos D A, Stillman D L, Cooper E L
School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, 2109, Australia.
J Invertebr Pathol. 1998 Jul;72(1):44-9. doi: 10.1006/jipa.1998.4760.
A number of molecules were found to alter the motility of tunicate hemocytes. Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) significantly enhanced cell mobility relative to non-stimulated controls. Responses to LPS were not directional and so represented chemokinesis. In contrast, checkerboard analyses indicated that two tunicate hemolymph proteins, tunIL1-alpha and -beta, stimulated truly directional chemotaxis by hemocytes. The data suggest that tunIL1 proteins may contribute to defense by altering the localization of immunocompetent cells.
