Abstract
IT has been suggested that1,2 EDTA disaggregates cells by removing divalent cations from the electrostatic double layer, increasing the surface potential and thus the electrostatic repulsive force between cells. This hypothesis has never received confirmatory evidence and recent work has cast doubt on its validity3–6. We have used post-feeding cells of the cellular slime mould, Dictyostelium discoideum, to demonstrate that EDTA does not act through an increase in average electrostatic repulsive force. But in other conditions these forces seem to be important in determining whether or not the cells can adhere7.
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GINGELL, D., GARROD, D. Effect of EDTA on Electrophoretic Mobility of Slime Mould Cells and its relationship to Current Theories of Cell Adhesion. Nature 221, 192–193 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/221192a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/221192a0
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