Open AccessInterferon increases the abundance of submembranous microfilaments in HeLa-S3 cells in suspension culture.
Author(s) -
Eugenia Wang,
Lawrence M. Pfeffer,
Igor Tamm
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.78.10.6281
Subject(s) - microfilament , hela , actin , cytochalasin d , microbiology and biotechnology , fibroblast , cytochalasin b , chemistry , cell culture , cytoskeleton , biology , biophysics , cell , biochemistry , in vitro , genetics
Human beta (fibroblast) interferon inhibits the proliferation of human HeLa-S3 carcinoma cells in suspension culture. Accompanying this effect, the lateral mobility of cell surface receptors for concanavalin A is decreased and the rigidity of the plasma membrane lipid bilayer is increased. The present findings show a marked increase in the number of polymerized actin-containing microfilaments 3 days after treatment of HeLa-S3 cells with beta-interferon (640 units/ml). The cortical region of the treated enlarged cells contains a thick and dense meshwork of 40-70 A microfilaments. The actin nature of the filaments was verified by their ability to bind heavy meromyosin. These results support the concept that beta-interferon induces a coordinated response in the plasma membrane and the underlying microfilaments in both tumor and normal cells.