Specificity of pseudopodium induction by the action of cations on Amoeba proteus.

Some substituted cholines, long-chain aliphatic substituted amines and simple inorganic salts have been tested at different concentrations for their ability to induce pseudopodia from Amoeba proteus. The ability of substituted amines to induce pseudopodia is inversely related to their ability to bind to acid polysaccharides. The reaction of compounds with the surface polysaccharide is probably not in itself the only requirement for pseudopodium induction. A mechanism is proposed in which the properties of the cell membrane are altered by the reaction of compounds with bulky cationic groups with the membrane lipid. The formation of new pseudopodia is not the direct result of a local reduction in the surface charge density or in surface potential.