The position of cleavage furrow in cultured <Emphasis Type="Italic">L-929</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">CHO</Emphasis> cells

The position of the cleavage furrow (random or otherwise) was studied on cultured L-929 (NCTC, clone 929) and CHO cells. CHO cells were seeded uniformly on the surface of Petri dishes; L-929 cells were grown as colonies so that migrating cells could be watched. Cell behavior was registered by time-lapse imaging. Two parameters were analyzed on captured images: the angle between the cell polarization axis and cleavage furrow and the angle between the cell polarization axis or cleavage furrow and the horizontal axis of the image field. It was shown that the position of CHO cells in the dish plane and the value of the angle between the cell polarization axis and the cleavage furrow were random. The L-929 cells migrating from the colony were orientated such that their polarization axis was directed to the colony center and the cleavage furrow was perpendicular to this axis. The nonrandom position of cultivated cells during mitosis and their cleavage furrow during the telophase are discussed.