PMID: 8586659Nov 1, 1995Paper

Low concentrations of nocodazole interfere with fibroblast locomotion without significantly affecting microtubule level: implications for the role of dynamic microtubules in cell locomotion

Journal of Cell Science
G LiaoG G Gundersen

Abstract

The role of microtubules (MTs) in cell locomotion is uncertain: while MTs are not essential for motility of certain cells, MTs are necessary for the directed translocation of large cells such as fibroblasts, endothelial cells and neuronal growth cones. Based on previous studies, we hypothesize that cell locomotion may involve MTs in two possible ways: (1) the rate of cell locomotion is proportional to MT level; or (2) cell locomotion is not proportional to MT level but requires a critical level of MTs to proceed. To test these hypotheses, we measured the rate of locomotion of NRK fibroblasts migrating into an in vitro wound, before and after treatment with different concentrations of nocodazole to generate cells with different levels of MTs. Locomotion of cells was monitored directly using timelapse recording and analyzed with an Image-1 image analysis program. Addition of nocodazole (> or = 50 nM) resulted in a rapid reduction in locomotion to a new rate that was maintained for > 2 hours. We found that addition of as little as 100 nM nocodazole decreased the rate of locomotion by more than 60%; and that 300 nM nocodazole completely stopped cell locomotion. Although 100 nM nocodazole decreased locomotion over 60%, we detected n...Continue Reading

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