chemoattracting

Chemoattracting, or chemoattraction, is the directed movement of a cell toward higher concentrations of a chemical stimulus, a form of chemotaxis driven by chemoattractants. The process guides cells across gradients and is essential for immune defense, development, wound healing, and microbial navigation. Chemoattractants include chemokines, nutrients, and other signaling molecules released by damaged tissue, pathogens, or nearby cells.

Detection occurs through cell-surface receptors. In bacteria such as Escherichia coli, attractants modulate the rotation of flagella to bias movement toward the gradient. In animal cells, binding of attractants to receptors such as G protein-coupled receptors or receptor tyrosine kinases triggers intracellular signaling that polarizes the cell and reorganizes the cytoskeleton, enabling movement up the gradient. Core signaling components often involve PI3K, PTEN, Rho family GTPases, and actin remodeling.

Physiological roles include recruitment of neutrophils and other leukocytes to sites of infection, migration of developing cells along morphogen gradients, and the attraction of fibroblasts and endothelial cells during wound healing. In cancer, chemoattractant gradients can influence the migration of malignant cells to distant sites.

Experimental study of chemoattraction uses assays such as the Boyden chamber, Dunn chamber, and microfluidic devices that generate stable chemical gradients, enabling observation of directional cell movement both in vitro and in vivo.