Chemotaxis: the proper physiological response to evaluate phylogeny of signal molecules.

In this review we summarize our results gained on the investigations focused to characterize ligand and signaling mechanisms required for the chemotaxis in the unicellular model Tetrahymena. Our data show that short chain signal molecules (amino acids, oligopeptides) are distinguished upon their physicochemical characteristics - lipophilicity, residual volumes and statistical distribution of side-chain distances (e.g. in proline containing dipeptides), while the vertebrate hormones have also specific attractant or repellent effects in the model (FSH vs. TSH). Hormonal imprinting developed by pretreatments has also special, signal molecule dependent effect (histamine vs. serotonin). It is shown that "chemotactic selection" of cells, by the new probe developed by us is a suitable tool to provide subpopulations possessing enhanced chemotactic receptor-effector mechanisms with respect to the selector signal molecules (IL-8, TNF-alpha).