Amoeboid movement is the most common mode of locomotion in Eukaryotic cells. It is a crawling-like type of movement accomplished by protrusion of
cytoplasm of the
cell involving the formation of
pseudopodia. The cytoplasm slides and forms a pseudopodium in front to move the cell forward. This type of movement has been linked to changes in
action potential; the exact mechanism is still unknown. This type of movement is observed in
amoeboids,
slime molds and some
protozoans such as
Naegleria gruberi, as well as some cells in humans such as
leukocytes.
Sarcomas, or cancers arising from connective tissue cells, are particularly adept at amoeboid movement, thus leading to their high rate of metastasis.