Fig 4.

Effect of simultaneous treatment with nocodazole and Y-27632 on cell shape and distribution of focal complexes of polarized Rat-1 fibroblasts. Cells treated with nocodazole and Y-27632 for 5 h had discoid nonpolarized shape with flat ringlike lamella around the cell body (A). Small dotlike, serrated focal complexes were present at the edges of lamella as determined by staining with anti-paxillin antibodies (B). Cell treated with nocodazole alone for 5 h (C) formed irregularly shaped swellings at the cell edge. The observed swellings appeared to form by the fusion of multiple ruffles at the lamellipodial edge (C, see arrowhead). The swellings did not exhibit retrograde flow but remained at the cell edge, where they eventually dissolved back into the cytoplasm after a short period (see arrows in C and D). (Bar = 10 μm.)