Effects of the Actin‐Stabilizing Drug,Jasplakinolide, on Pigment Granule Motility in Isolated Retinal Pigment Epithelial (RPE) Cells of Green Sunfish,Lepomis cyanellus

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of teleosts contains pigment granules that migrate in response to changes in light condition. Dissociated, cultured RPE cells in vitro can be triggered to aggregate or disperse pigment granules by the application of cAMP or dopamine, respectively. Previous research using the actin‐disrupting drug, cytochalasin D, suggested that pigment granule motility is actin dependent. To further examine the role of actin in pigment granule motility, we tested the effects of the actin‐stabilizing drug, jasplakinolide, on pigment granule motility. Pigment granules in previously dispersed RPE cells remained dispersed after jasplakinolide exposure (0.1–1 μM), but the drug halted movement of most pigment granules and stimulated rapid bi‐directional movements in a small subset of granules. Jasplakinolide also blocked net pigment granule aggregation and interfered with the maintenance of full aggregation. Although jasplakinolide did not block pigment granule dispersion, it did alter the motility of dispersing granules compared to control cells; rather than the normal saltatory, primarily centrifugal movements, granules of jasplakinolide‐treated cells demonstrated slow, creeping centrifugal movements and more rapid bi‐directional movements. Jasplakinolide also altered cell morphology; the length and thickness of apical projections increased, and enlarged, paddle‐like structures, which contained F‐actin appeared at the tips of projections. Actin antibody labeling of jasplakinolide‐treated cells revealed a more reticulated network of actin compared to antibody‐labeled control cells. These results indicate that jasplakinolide‐induced disruption of the actin network compromises normal pigment granule dispersion and aggregation in isolated RPE cells, thus providing further evidence that these movements are actin dependent.     

Redundant mechanisms for anaphase chromosome movements: crane-fly spermatocyte spindles normally use actin filaments but also can function without them

Summary. Actin inhibitors block or slow anaphase chromosome movements in crane-fly spermatocytes, but stopping of movement is only temporary; we assumed that cells adapt to loss of actin by switching to mechanism(s) involving only microtubules. To test this, we produced actin-filament-free spindles: we added latrunculin B during prometaphase, 9–80 min before anaphase, after which chromosomes generally moved normally during anaphase. We confirmed the absence of actin filaments by staining with fluorescent phalloidin and by showing that cytochalasin D had no effect on chromosome movement. Thus, actin filaments are involved in normal anaphase movements, but in vivo, spindles nonetheless can function normally without them. We tested whether chromosome movements in actin-filament-free spindles arise via microtubules by challenging such spindles with anti-myosin drugs. Y-27632 and BDM (2,3-butanedione monoxime), inhibitors that affect myosin at different regulatory levels, blocked chromosome movement in normal spindles and in actin-filament-free spindles. We tested whether BDM has side effects on microtubule motors. BDM had no effect on ciliary and sperm motility or on ATPase activity of isolated ciliary axonemes, and thus it does not directly block dynein. Nor does it block kinesin, assayed by a microtubule sliding assay. BDM could conceivably indirectly affect these microtubule motors, though it is unlikely that it would have the same side effect on the motors as Y-27632. Since BDM and Y-27632 both affect chromosome movement in the same way, it would seem that both affect spindle myosin; this suggests that spindle myosin interacts with kinetochore microtubules, either directly or via an intermediate component. Supplementary material to this paper is available in electronic form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00709-005-0094-6 Correspondence and reprints: Biology Department, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada.     

Effects of the actin-stabilizing drug, jasplakinolide, on pigment granule motility in isolated retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells of green sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of teleosts contains pigment granules that migrate in response to changes in light condition. Dissociated, cultured RPE cells in vitro can be triggered to aggregate or disperse pigment granules by the application of cAMP or dopamine, respectively. Previous research using the actin-disrupting drug, cytochalasin D, suggested that pigment granule motility is actin dependent. To further examine the role of actin in pigment granule motility, we tested the effects of the actin-stabilizing drug, jasplakinolide, on pigment granule motility. Pigment granules in previously dispersed RPE cells remained dispersed after jasplakinolide exposure (0.1-1 microM), but the drug halted movement of most pigment granules and stimulated rapid bi-directional movements in a small subset of granules. Jasplakinolide also blocked net pigment granule aggregation and interfered with the maintenance of full aggregation. Although jasplakinolide did not block pigment granule dispersion, it did alter the motility of dispersing granules compared to control cells; rather than the normal saltatory, primarily centrifugal movements, granules of jasplakinolide-treated cells demonstrated slow, creeping centrifugal movements and more rapid bi-directional movements. Jasplakinolide also altered cell morphology; the length and thickness of apical projections increased, and enlarged, paddle-like structures, which contained F-actin appeared at the tips of projections. Actin antibody labeling of jasplakinolide-treated cells revealed a more reticulated network of actin compared to antibody-labeled control cells. These results indicate that jasplakinolide-induced disruption of the actin network compromises normal pigment granule dispersion and aggregation in isolated RPE cells, thus providing further evidence that these movements are actin dependent.     

The role of myosin phosphorylation in anaphase chromosome movement

This work deals with the role of myosin phosphorylation in anaphase chromosome movement. Y27632 and ML7 block two different pathways for phosphorylation of the myosin regulatory light chain (MRLC). Both stopped or slowed chromosome movement when added to anaphase crane-fly spermatocytes. To confirm that the effects of the pharmacological agents were on the presumed targets, we studied cells stained with antibodies against mono- or bi-phosphorylated myosin. For all chromosomes whose movements were affected by a drug, the corresponding spindle fibres of the affected chromosomes had reduced levels of 1P- and 2P-myosin. Thus the drugs acted on the presumed target and myosin phosphorylation is involved in anaphase force production.Calyculin A, an inhibitor of MRLC dephosphorylation, reversed and accelerated the altered movements caused by Y27632 and ML-7, suggesting that another phosphorylation pathway is involved in phosphorylation of spindle myosin. Staurosporine, a more general phosphorylation inhibitor, also reduced the levels of MRLC phosphorylation and caused anaphase chromosomes to stop or slow. The effects of staurosporine on chromosome movements were not reversed by Calyculin A, confirming that another phosphorylation pathway is involved in phosphorylation of spindle myosin.     

Effects of anti-myosin drugs on anaphase chromosome movement and cytokinesis in crane-fly primary spermatocytes.

To investigate whether myosin is involved in crane-fly primary spermatocyte division, we studied the effects of myosin inhibitors on chromosome movement and on cytokinesis. With respect to chromosome movement, the myosin ATPase inhibitor 2,3-butanedione 2-monoxime (BDM) added during autosomal anaphase reversibly perturbed the movements of all autosomes: autosomes stopped, slowed, or moved backwards during treatment. BDM added before anaphase onset altered chromosome movement less than when BDM was added during anaphase: chromosome movements only rarely were stopped. They often were normal initially and then, if altered at all, were slowed. To confirm that the effects of BDM were due to myosin inhibition, we treated cells with ML-7, a drug that inhibits myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), an enzyme necessary to activate myosin. ML-7 affected anaphase movement only when added in early prometaphase: this treatment prevented chromosome attachment to the spindle. We treated cells with H-7 as a control for possible non-myosin effects of ML-7. H-7, which has a lower affinity than ML-7 for MLCK but a higher affinity than ML-7 for other potential targets, had no effect. These data confirm that the BDM effect is on myosin and indicate that the myosin used for chromosome movement is activated near the start of prometaphase. With respect to cytokinesis, BDM did not block furrow initiation but did block subsequent contraction of the contractile ring. When BDM was added after initiation of the furrow, the contractile ring either stalled or relaxed. ML-7 blocked contractile ring contraction when added at all stages after autosomal anaphase onset, including when added during cytokinesis. H-7 had no effect. These results confirm that the effects of BDM are on myosin and indicate that the myosin used for cytokinesis is activated starting from autosomal anaphase and continuing throughout cytokinesis.     

Effects of jasplakinolide on the kinetics of actin polymerization. An explanation for certain in vivo observations

Jasplakinolide paradoxically stabilizes actin filaments in vitro, but in vivo it can disrupt actin filaments and induce polymerization of monomeric actin into amorphous masses. A detailed analysis of the effects of jasplakinolide on the kinetics of actin polymerization suggests a resolution to this paradox. Jasplakinolide markedly enhances the rate of actin filament nucleation. This increase corresponds to a change in the size of actin oligomer capable of nucleating filament growth from four to approximately three subunits, which is mechanistically consistent with the localization of the jasplakinolide-binding site at an interface of three actin subunits. Because jasplakinolide both decreases the amount of sequestered actin (by lowering the critical concentration of actin) and augments nucleation, the enhancement of polymerization by jasplakinolide is amplified in the presence of actin-monomer sequestering proteins such as thymosin beta(4). Overall, the kinetic parameters in vitro define the mechanism by which jasplakinolide induces polymerization of monomeric actin in vivo. Expected consequences of jasplakinolide function are consistent with the experimental observations and include de novo nucleation resulting in disordered polymeric actin and in insufficient monomeric actin to allow for remodeling of stress fibers.     

Structure of kinetochore fibres in crane-fly spermatocytes after irradiation with an ultraviolet microbeam: neither microtubules nor actin filaments remain in the irradiated region

We studied chromosome movement after kinetochore microtubules were severed. Severing a kinetochore fibre in living crane-fly spermatocytes with an ultraviolet microbeam creates a kinetochore stub, a birefringent remnant of the spindle fibre connected to the kinetochore and extending only to the edge of the irradiated region. After the irradiation, anaphase chromosomes either move poleward led by their stubs or temporarily stop moving. We examined actin and/or microtubules in irradiated cells by means of confocal fluorescence microscopy or serial-section reconstructions from electron microscopy. For each cell thus examined, chromosome movement had been recorded continuously until the moment of fixation. Kinetochore microtubules were completely severed by the ultraviolet microbeam in cells in which chromosomes continued to move poleward after the irradiation: none were seen in the irradiated regions. Similarly, actin filaments normally present in kinetochore fibres were severed by the ultraviolet microbeam irradiations: the irradiated regions contained no actin filaments and only local spots of non-filamentous actin. There was no difference in irradiated regions when the associated chromosomes continued to move versus when they stopped moving. Thus, one cannot explain motion with severed kinetochore microtubules in terms of either microtubules or actin-filaments bridging the irradiated region. The data seem to negate current models for anaphase chromosome movement and support a model in which poleward chromosome movement results from forces generated within the spindle matrix that propel kinetochore fibres or kinetochore stubs poleward.     

Rhodamine-phalloidin and anti-tubulin antibody staining of spindle fibres that were irradiated with an ultraviolet microbeam

Summary We irradiated chromosomal spindle fibres in crane-fly spermatocytes with an ultraviolet microbeam of 270 nm wavelength light with total energies near those that cause actin filaments in myofibrils to depolymerize; after irradiation we stained the cells with rhodamine-labelled phalloidin and with anti-tubulin antibodies. In some cells, the irradiation reduced both phalloidin and tubulin staining of the chromosomal spindle fibres; in other cells, the irradiations reduced phalloidin staining but not tubulin staining; in yet other cells, the irradiations reduced tubulin staining but not phalloidin staining. In all irradiated cells in which phalloidin staining was reduced in the irradiated areas phalloidin staining also was reduced poleward from the irradiated areas. These results show that phalloidin staining of chromosomal spindle fibres is not dependent on the presence of kinetochore microtubules, and, therefore, that actin filaments are present in the spindle fibres in vivo. We suggest that actin filaments present in spindle fibres in vivo may be involved in causing chromosome movements during anaphase.     

Plant actin filament and microtubule interactions during anaphase--telophase transition: effects of antagonist drugs

F-actin and microtubule co-distribution and interaction were studied during anaphase-telophase. Rapid and drastic changes in the cytoskeleton during these particular stages were studied in isolated plant endosperm cells of the blood lily. These wall-free cells can be considered as natural dividing protoplasts. As identified previously, an F-actin cytoskeletal network characterized the plant cortex and formed an elastic cage around the spindle, remaining throughout interphase, mitosis and cytokinesis. Actin was specifically labeled by fluorescent phalloidin and/or monoclonal antibodies. Gold-labelled secondary antibodies were used for ultrastructural observations and silver-enhancement was applied for video-enhanced microscopy. Microtubule and microfilament dynamics and interaction were studied using drug antagonists to actin (cytochalasins B, D) and to tubulin (colchicine). This permitted precise correlations to be made between chromosome movement inhibition and alteration in the actin/tubulin cytoskeleton. During anaphase chromosome migration, the cortical actin network was stretched along the microtubular spindle, while it remained homogeneous when anaphase was inhibited by colchicine. Cytochalasins did not inhibit chromosome movement but altered actin distribution. A new population of actin filaments appeared at the equator in late anaphase before the microtubular phragmoplast was formed and contributed to cell plate formation. Our conclusion is that F-actin-microtubule interaction may contribute to the regulatory mechanism of plant cytokinesis.     

Jasplakinolide reversibly disrupts actin filaments in suspension-cultured tobacco BY-2 cells

Summary. Jasplakinolide is potentially a useful pharmacological tool for the study of actin organization and dynamics in living cells, since it induces actin polymerization in vitro and, unlike phalloidin, is membrane permeative. In the present work, the effect of jasplakinolide on the actin cytoskeleton of living suspension-cultured Nicotiana tabacum ‘Bright Yellow 2’ cells was investigated. Actin filaments in the living cells were disrupted by jasplakinolide. The effect of jasplakionlide on the actin cytoskeleton was concentration and time dependent. When cells were treated with a moderate concentration (150 nM) of jasplakinolide, cortical actin filaments were disrupted preferentially, whereas actin aggregated at the perinuclear region. With concentrations higher than 400 nM and exposure times longer than 30 min, actin filaments in the cell disappeared completely. The effect of jasplakinolide on the actin cytoskeleton was reversible even at high concentration. Actin bundles appeared first in the perinuclear region within 5 min, and the cortical actin array was reestablished in 15 min, suggesting that actin filaments might be organized at this region. Received July 31, 2001 Accepted December 14, 2001     

Effect of jasplakinolide on the growth, encystation, and actin cytoskeleton of Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba invadens

The effect of jasplakinolide. an actin-polymerizing and filament-stabilizing drug, on the growth, encystation, and actin cytoskeleton of Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba invadens was examined. Jasplakinolide inhibited the growth of E. histolytica strain HM-1:IMSS and E. invadens strain IP-1 in a concentration-dependent manner, the latter being more resistant to the drug. The inhibitory effect of jasplakinolide on the growth of E. histolytica trophozoites was reversed by removal of the drug after exposure to 1 microM for 1 day. Encystation of E. invadens as induced in vitro was also inhibited by jasplakinolide. Trophozoites exposed to jasplakinolide in encystation medium for 1 day did not encyst after removal of the drug, whereas those exposed to the drug in growth medium for 7 days did encyst without the drug. The process of cyst maturation was unaffected by jasplakinolide. Large round structures were formed in trophozoites of both amoebae grown with jasplakinolide; these were identified as F-actin aggregates by staining with fluorescent phalloidin. Accumulation in trophozoites of both amoebae of actin aggregates was observed after culture in jasplakinolide. Also, E. invadens cysts formed from trophozoites treated with jasplakinolide contained the actin aggregate. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblot analysis revealed that the jasplakinolide treatment led to an increase in the proportion of F-actin associated with formation of the aggregate. The results suggest that aggregates are formed from the cortical flow of F-actin filaments, and that these filaments would normally be depolymerized but are artificially stabilized by jasplakinolide binding.     

In vivo effects of ortho-vanadate on spindle structure and dynamics of locust spermatocytes I

After external application of vanadate, a potent inhibitor of several ATPases including dynein, the following effects on living spermatocytes I are detectable: spherical metaphase cells change to a lemon shape due to a concentration dependent elongation of the spindle, apparently achieved by pulling the plasma membrane-inserted poles apart, presumably through the assistance of cytoskeletal filaments. The observed dismembering of the spindle seems to be due to the separation of the half-spindle fibres, composed of usually interdigitating kinetochore microtubules (kMTs), free MTs (fMTs) and polar MTs (pMTs). As revealed by microcinematographic recordings, the lengthening of the half-spindles is accompanied by counter-clockwise twisting movements of the polar regions which, after prolonged vanadate treatment, lead to the formation of filiform appendices. Bundles of 5 nm microfilaments, which could be identified by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy (IIF) as actin, are concentrated within these appendices. In spite of a certain derangement of spindle architecture, half of the metaphases in 1 mM vanadate are capable of entering anaphase, but the rates of chromosome-to-pole movement have changed depending on the incubation time and the cell shape developed, respectively. Thus, chromosomes move with the highest speed in lemon-shaped cells but lag in cells with filiform appendices. However, it remains an open question whether the acceleration of chromosome migration is the result of spindle dismemberment or whether the slowing of anaphase motion is the consequence of a far-reaching displacement of the filamentous component from the spindle framework.     

Localization of actin filaments on mitotic apparatus in tobacco BY-2 cells

Actin filaments are among the major components of the cytoskeleton, and participate in various cellular dynamic processes. However, conflicting results had been obtained on the localization of actin filaments on the mitotic apparatus and their participation in the process of chromosome segregation. We demonstrated by using rhodamine-phalloidin staining, the localization of actin filaments on the mitotic spindles of tobacco BY-2 cells when the cells were treated with cytochalasin D. At prophase, several clear spots were observed at or near the kinetochores of the chromosomes. At anaphase, the actin filaments that appeared to be pulling chromosomes toward the division poles were demonstrated. However, as there was a slight possibility that these results might have been the artifacts of cytochalasin D treatment or the phalloidin staining, we analyzed the localization of actin filaments at the mitotic apparatus immunologically. We cloned a novel BY-2 -type actin cDNA and prepared a BY-2 actin antibody. The fluorescence of the anti-BY-2 actin antibody was clearly observed at the mitotic apparatus in both non-treated and cytochalasin D-treated BY-2 cells during mitosis. The facts that similar results were obtained in both actin staining with rhodamine-phalloidin and immunostaining with actin antibody strongly indicate the participation of actin in the organization of the spindle body or in the process of chromosome segregation. Furthermore, both filamentous actin and spindle bodies disappeared in the cells treated with propyzamide, which depolymerizes microtubules, supporting the notion that actin filaments are associated with microtubules organizing the spindle body.Hiroshi Yasuda and Katsuhiro Kanda contributed equally.     

Mechanism of the formation of contractile ring in dividing cultured animal cells. II. Cortical movement of microinjected actin filaments

The contractile ring in dividing animal cells is formed primarily through the reorganization of existing actin filaments (Cao, L.-G., and Y.-L. Wang. 1990. J. Cell Biol. 110:1089-1096), but it is not clear whether the process involves a random recruitment of diffusible actin filaments from the cytoplasm, or a directional movement of cortically associated filaments toward the equator. We have studied this question by observing the distribution of actin filaments that have been labeled with fluorescent phalloidin and microinjected into dividing normal rat kidney (NRK) cells. The labeled filaments are present primarily in the cytoplasm during prometaphase and early metaphase, but become associated extensively with the cell cortex 10-15 min before the onset of anaphase. This process is manifested both as an increase in cortical fluorescence intensity and as movements of discrete aggregates of actin filaments toward the cortex. The concentration of actin fluorescence in the equatorial region, accompanied by a decrease of fluorescence in polar regions, is detected 2-3 min after the onset of anaphase. By directly tracing the distribution of aggregates of labeled actin filaments, we are able to detect, during anaphase and telophase, movements of cortical actin filaments toward the equator at an average rate of 1.0 micron/min. Our results, combined with previous observations, suggest that the organization of actin filaments during cytokinesis probably involves an association of cytoplasmic filaments with the cortex, a movement of cortical filaments toward the cleavage furrow, and a dissociation of filaments from the equatorial cortex.     

Single particle tracking of surface receptor movement during cell division

We have used fluorescent latex beads to label membrane receptors on cultured NRK cells. Movement of individual beads during cell division was recorded with digital imaging techniques. Surface-bound beads showed no organized movement during metaphase but started to migrate toward the equator approximately 1 min after anaphase onset, when chromosomes moved out of the equatorial region to create the interzone. The movement was most active in the central region of the cell near separating chromosomes, while beads located near the poles of the cell underwent primarily random motion. Most beads showed a surge in speed upon the passage of chromosomes, suggesting a possible link between chromosome separation and cortical reorganization. Furthermore, treatment of anaphase cells with cytochalasin D induced a rapid, simultaneous collapse of beads and cortical actin filaments into aggregates, indicating that the movement of beads was closely related to the reorganization of the actin cortex. In contrast to normal directional movement, cytochalasin-induced movement occurred in random directions and caused some beads in the equatorial region to move toward poles. Our results indicate that cytokinesis involves contractile activities, not only along the equator, but over a wide area of the actin-containing cortex. In addition, organized cortical activities appear to be temporally activated at anaphase onset, and spatially modulated by the spindle interzone or separating chromosomes.     

Myosin localization during meiosis I of crane-fly spermatocytes gives indications about its role in division

We showed previously that in crane-fly spermatocytes myosin is required for tubulin flux [Silverman-Gavrila and Forer, 2000a: J Cell Sci 113:597-609], and for normal anaphase chromosome movement and contractile ring contraction [Silverman-Gavrila and Forer, 2001: Cell Motil Cytoskeleton 50:180-197]. Neither the identity nor the distribution of myosin(s) were known. In the present work, we used immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy to study myosin during meiosis-I of crane-fly spermatocytes compared to tubulin, actin, and skeletor, a spindle matrix protein, in order to further understand how myosin might function during cell division. Antibodies to myosin II regulatory light chain and myosin II heavy chain gave similar staining patterns, both dependent on stage: myosin is associated with nuclei, asters, centrosomes, chromosomes, spindle microtubules, midbody microtubules, and contractile rings. Myosin and actin colocalization along kinetochore fibers from prometaphase to anaphase are consistent with suggestions that acto-myosin forces in these stages propel kinetochore fibres poleward and trigger tubulin flux in kinetochore fibres, contributing in this way to poleward chromosome movement. Myosin and actin colocalization at the cell equator in cytokinesis, similar to studies in other cells [e.g., Fujiwara and Pollard, 1978: J Cell Biol 77:182-195], supports a role of actin-myosin interactions in contractile ring function. Myosin and skeletor colocalization in prometaphase spindles is consistent with a role of these proteins in spindle formation. After microtubules or actin were disrupted, myosin remained in spindles and contractile rings, suggesting that the presence of myosin in these structures does not require the continued presence of microtubules or actin. BDM (2,3 butanedione, 2 monoxime) treatment that inhibits chromosome movement and cytokinesis also altered myosin distributions in anaphase spindles and contractile rings, consistent with the physiological effects, suggesting also that myosin needs to be active in order to be properly distributed.     

Microtubules,chromosome movement,and reorientation after chromosomes are detached from the spindle by micromanipulation

The relationship between chromosome movement and mirotubules was explored by combining micromanipulation of living grasshopper spermatocytes with electron microscopy. We detached chromosomes from the spindle and placed them far out in the cytoplasm. Soon, the chromosomes began to move back toward the spindle and the cells were fixed at a chosen moment. The microtubules seen in three-dimensional reconstructions were correlated with the chromosome movement just prior to fixation. Before movement began, detached chromosomes had no kinetochore microtubules or a single one at most. Renewed movement was always accompanied by the reappearance of kinetochore microtubules; a single kinetochore microtubule appeared to suffice. Chromosome movements and kinetochore microtubule arrangements were unusual after reattachment, but their relationship was not: poleward forces, parallel to the kinetochore microtubule axis (as in normal anaphase), would explain the movement, however odd. The initial arrangement of kinetochore microtubules would have led to aberrant chromosome distribution if it persisted, but instead, reorientation to the appropriate arrangement always followed. Observations on living cells permitted us to place in sequence the kinetochore microtubule arrangements seen in fixed cells, revealing the microtubule transformations during reorientation. From the sequence of events we conclude that chromosome movement can cause reorientation to begin and that in the changes which follow, an unstable attachment of kinetochore microtubules to the spindle plays a major role.     

Possible roles of actin and myosin during anaphase chromosome movements in locust spermatocytes

Summary. We tested whether the mechanisms of chromosome movement during anaphase in locust (Locusta migratoria L.) spermatocytes might be similar to those described for crane-fly spermatocytes. Actin and myosin have been implicated in anaphase chromosome movements in crane-fly spermatocytes, as indicated by the effects of inhibitors and by the localisations of actin and myosin in spindles. In this study, we tested whether locust spermatocyte spindles also utilise actin and myosin, and whether actin is involved in microtubule flux. Living locust spermatocytes were treated with inhibitors of actin (latrunculin B and cytochalasin D), myosin (BDM), or myosin phosphorylation (Y-27632 and ML-7). We added drugs (individually) during anaphase. Actin inhibitors alter anaphase: chromosomes either completely stop moving, slow, or sometimes accelerate. The myosin inhibitor, BDM, also alters anaphase: in most cases, the chromosomes drastically slow or stop. ML-7, an inhibitor of MLCK, causes chromosomes to stop, slow, or sometimes accelerate, similar to actin inhibitors. Y-27632, an inhibitor of Rho-kinase, drastically slows or stops anaphase chromosome movements. The effects of the drugs on anaphase movement are reversible: most of the half-bivalents resumed movement at normal speed after these drugs were washed out. Actin and myosin were present in the spindles in locations consistent with their possible involvement in force production. Microtubule flux along kinetochore fibres is an actin-dependent process, since LatB completely removes or drastically reduces the gap in microtubule acetylation at the kinetochore. These results suggest that actin and myosin are involved in anaphase chromosome movements in locust spermatocytes. Correspondence: A. Forer, Biology Department, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada.     

A comparison of the distribution of actin and tubulin in the mammalian mitotic spindle as seen by indirect immunofluorescence

Rabbit antibodies against actin and tubulin were used in an indirect immunofluorescence study of the structure of the mitotic spindle of PtK1 cells after lysis under conditions that preserve anaphase chromosome movement. During early prophase there is no antiactin staining associated with the mitotic centers, but by late prophase, as the spindle is beginning to form, a small ball of actin antigenicity is found beside the nucleus; After nuclear envelope breakdown, the actiactin stains the region around each mitotic center, and becomes organized into fibers that run between the chromosomes and the poles. Colchicine blocks this organization, but does not disrupt the staining at the poles. At metaphase the antiactin reveals a halo of ill-defined radius around each spindle pole and fibers that run from the poles to the metaphase plate. Antitubulin shows astral rays, fibers running from chromosomes to poles, and some fibers that run across the metaphase plate. At anaphase, there is a shortening of the antiactin-stained fibers, leaving a zone which is essentially free of actin-staining fluorescence between the separating chromosomes. Antitubulin stains the region between chromosomes and poles, but also reveals substantial fibers running through the zone between separating chromosomes. Cells fixed during cytokinesis show actin in the region of the cleavage furrow, while antitubulin reveals the fibrous spindle remnant that runs between daughter cells. These results suggest that actin is a component of the mammalian mitotic spindle, that the distribution of actin differs from that of tubulin and that the distributions of these two fibrous proteins change in different ways during anaphase.     

In vitro reactivation of anaphase B in isolated spindles of the sea urchin egg

Spindles may be isolated from sea urchin eggs so that some mitotic processes can be reactivated in vitro. The isolation media allow spindles to remain stable for days. Transfer of the spindles to reactivation media results in loss of birefringence and breakdown of the matrix within which the microtubules function. If, however, tubulin and either guanosine triphosphate or adenosine triphosphate are present in these media so that tubulin can cycle, the spindles do not break down but grow in size and birefringence and show some of the movements of in vivo spindles. The most prominent is that of anaphase B if the mitotic apparatuses (MAs) have been isolated at a time when anaphase was initiated. When isolated during metaphase, MAs either do not show chromosome movement or, if they do, it is a random movement which causes redistribution of the chromosomes on the spindle surface. In either case, such metaphase spindles grow in size and birefringence. Thus under the proper conditions, cycling microtubules can interact with the spindle matrix to induce chromosome movements which resemble those seen in in vivo cells in the case of anaphase B and show some aspects of anaphase A in at least half the spindles isolated at metaphase, although such movements are not coordinated to show a true anaphase movement.