The Journal of Cell Biology, Vol 82, 76-85, Copyright © 1979 by The Rockefeller University Press
Expression of microtubule networks in normal cells, transformed cells, and their hybrids
SL Wolin and RS Kucherlapati
Microtubules play an important role in several cellular functions including
cellular architecture and chromosome movement in cell division. Tubulin
which polymerizes to form mictobules can be purified to homogeneity and
used to raised antisera. Antisera prepared against porcine or chicken
tubulin reacts well with mammalian tubulin. We have examined normal and
transformed cells of mouse and human origin for microtubules by indirect
immunofluorescence methods. Extensive networks of microtubules (MN) are
easily detectable in normal and some transformed cells. The fixation
procedure employed and the morphology and the cellular attachment
properties seem to determine the ease of detection of MN in these cells.
Cells derived from tumors and exhibiting several transformed phenotypes
contained MN comparable to those of normal cells. Hybrids between
transformed mouse cells and normal human cells were examined. They showed a
variability in morphology, but all contained MN. These hybrids exhibited
several transformed phenotypes. We conclude that in the cell lines we have
examined there is no correlation between the transformed phenotypes and the
organization of tubulin.
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