Chemotactic activity is not dependent on enzymatic activity.
A, loss of enzymatic activity due to conversion of the conserved lysine to arginine (mEar 11K35R) as in A has no impact on splenocyte chemotaxis; in contrast, addition of cytoplasmic RI, which binds tightly and specifically to the molecular surface of RNase A family ribonucleases, inhibits chemotaxis elicited by mEar 11 and mEar 11K35R. Addition of RI alone has no impact on splenocyte chemotaxis; **, p < 0.01 versus no mEar 11 control. B, CCL-24 (0.6 μm) is a chemoattractant for FSChi/SSChi mouse splenocytes; RI has no impact on chemotaxis elicited by this agent; **, p < 0.01 versus RI only control; C, P. pastoris-derived mEar 11 introduced at 1.7 μm to lower, upper, or both wells of a transwell plate. Results document that mEar 11 elicits chemoattraction, not simply chemokinetic activity; **, p < 0.01 versus no mEar 11 control.