2007/08/02 by Guokai Chen, Olga Zhuchenko, Adam Kuspa · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Legionella and Acanthamoeba research #Vibrio bacteria research studies #Protist diversity and phylogeny #Biology #Amoeba (genus) #Immune system #Bacteria #Microbiology #Innate immune system #Cell biology #Immunology #Genetics
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1143991
openalex publication_date 2007/08/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Social amoebae feed on bacteria in the soil but aggregate when starved to form a migrating slug. We describe a previously unknown cell type in the social amoeba, which appears to provide detoxification and immune-like functions and which we term sentinel (S) cells. S cells were observed to engulf bacteria and sequester toxins while circulating within the slug, eventually being sloughed off. A Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain protein, TirA, was also required for some S cell functions and for vegetative amoebae to feed on live bacteria. This apparent innate immune function in social amoebae, and the use of TirA for bacterial feeding, suggest an ancient cellular foraging mechanism that may have been adapted to defense functions well before the diversification of the animals.