# THE DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY OF CELL MOTILITY

> **NIH NIH P01** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 1994 · $559,891

## Abstract

A program was established in 1984 to study several aspects of cell motility
in developing systems.  These systems now include 1) chemotaxis in
Dictyostelium, 2) the migration of sea urchin primary mesenchyme cells, 3)
the molecular basis of cell motility in vertebrate cells. and 4) growth
cone and neuronal activity in Drosophila.  A core facility has been
established in the program which not only provides image processing and
motion analysis technologies for participants, but which has evolved into
a developmental facility for 2D and 3D dynamic image analyzing systems.
The program also sponsors the Motility Seminar 6 times a semester in which
invited speakers present seminars on current subjects of interest in cell
motility and the cytoskeleton, and the Junior Motility Symposium which
meets at least once each semester, in which graduate students and postdocs
present formal seminars on their ongoing research.  In the next program
period, individual projects will investigate the following major questions:
1) how Dictyostelium amoebae behave in 3D in the natural chemotactic wave,
and the defects exhibited by mutants selectively lacking sensory
transduction and cytoskeletal molecules (Soll); 2) how a recently
identified cell surface glycoprotein initiates migratory behavior in
primary sea urchin mesenchyme cells and avian corneal fibroblasts
(Solursh); 3) how the different tropomyosin isoforms and caldesmon regulate
the interaction of actin and myosin in nonmuscle cell motility (Lin); and
4) how electric activity, intracellular Ca++, and protein kineses regulate
Drosophila growth cone motility and neural growth, and the roles of
adhesion molecules and ion channels (Wu).  In addition, we will continue to
develop new software packages for motion analysis in the core facility,
continue the Motility Seminar and Junior Motility Symposium, and initiate
a new yearly Senior Motility Symposium which will include outside speakers
and project directors, and a biannual Core Facility Training and
Demonstration Course for motion analysis technology.  The core facility
will also continue to serve all participants for microscopy, image
processing and 2 and 3D motion analysis.  This program project focuses on
the central theme of cell motility and obtains its vitality from the
intense interactions of the participants.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2197677
- **Project number:** 5P01HD018577-11
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **SAM.gov UEI:** Z1H9VJS8NG16
- **Principal Investigator:** DAVID R. SOLL
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1994
- **Award amount:** $559,891
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1984-04-01 → 1997-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2197677

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2197677, THE DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY OF CELL MOTILITY (5P01HD018577-11). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2197677. Licensed CC0.

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