cell anterior like cell Dictyostelium_discoideum_anatomy ALC Cell that has properties of anterior cells (for e.g., accumulate vital dyes in autophagic vesicles) but that is are scattered throughout the rear of the slug. Some but not all these cells express the ecmA gene and/or the ecmB gene. ALCs maintain an amoeboid appearance during culmination. ALCs that express the ecmO promoter have been called pstO/ALC. DDANAT:0000404