Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1984 Dec 1;99(6):2041–2047. doi: 10.1083/jcb.99.6.2041

Growth of neurites without filopodial or lamellipodial activity in the presence of cytochalasin B

PMCID: PMC2113555  PMID: 6389568

Abstract

To examine the role in neurite growth of actin-mediated tensions within growth cones, we cultured chick embryo dorsal root ganglion cells on various substrata in the presence of cytochalasin B. Time-lapse video recording was used to monitor behaviors of living cells, and cytoskeletal arrangements in neurites were assessed via immunofluorescence and electron microscopic observations of thin sections and whole, detergent-extracted cells decorated with the S1 fragment of myosin. On highly adhesive substrata, nerve cells were observed to extend numerous (though peculiarly oriented) neurites in the presence of cytochalasin, despite their lack of both filopodia and lamellipodia or the orderly actin networks characteristic of typical growth cones. We concluded that growth cone activity is not necessary for neurite elongation, although actin arrays seem important in mediating characteristics of substratum selectivity and neurite shape.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (2.8 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bliokh Z. L., Domnina L. V., Ivanova O. Y., Pletjushkina O. Y., Svitkina T. M., Smolyaninov V. A., Vasiliev J. M., Gelfand I. M. Spreading of fibroblasts in medium containing cytochalasin B: formation of lamellar cytoplasm as a combination of several functional different processes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Oct;77(10):5919–5922. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.10.5919. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bray D. Mechanical tension produced by nerve cells in tissue culture. J Cell Sci. 1979 Jun;37:391–410. doi: 10.1242/jcs.37.1.391. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brenner S. L., Korn E. D. The effects of cytochalasins on actin polymerization and actin ATPase provide insights into the mechanism of polymerization. J Biol Chem. 1980 Feb 10;255(3):841–844. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Brown S. S., Spudich J. A. Cytochalasin inhibits the rate of elongation of actin filament fragments. J Cell Biol. 1979 Dec;83(3):657–662. doi: 10.1083/jcb.83.3.657. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Brown S. S., Spudich J. A. Mechanism of action of cytochalasin: evidence that it binds to actin filament ends. J Cell Biol. 1981 Mar;88(3):487–491. doi: 10.1083/jcb.88.3.487. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Ciment G., Weston J. A. Early appearance in neural crest and crest-derived cells of an antigenic determinant present in avian neurons. Dev Biol. 1982 Oct;93(2):355–367. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(82)90123-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Collins F. Axon initiation by ciliary neurons in culture. Dev Biol. 1978 Jul;65(1):50–57. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(78)90178-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Flanagan M. D., Lin S. Cytochalasins block actin filament elongation by binding to high affinity sites associated with F-actin. J Biol Chem. 1980 Feb 10;255(3):835–838. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Godman G., Woda B., Kolberg R., Berl S. Redistribution of contractile and cytoskeletal components induced by cytochalasin. I. In Hmf cells, a nontransformed fibroblastoid line. Eur J Cell Biol. 1980 Oct;22(2):733–744. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hartwig J. H., Stossel T. P. Cytochalasin B and the structure of actin gels. J Mol Biol. 1979 Nov 5;134(3):539–553. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(79)90366-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Letourneau P. C. Cell-substratum adhesion of neurite growth cones, and its role in neurite elongation. Exp Cell Res. 1979 Nov;124(1):127–138. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(79)90263-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Letourneau P. C. Cell-to-substratum adhesion and guidance of axonal elongation. Dev Biol. 1975 May;44(1):92–101. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(75)90379-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Letourneau P. C. Differences in the organization of actin in the growth cones compared with the neurites of cultured neurons from chick embryos. J Cell Biol. 1983 Oct;97(4):963–973. doi: 10.1083/jcb.97.4.963. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Letourneau P. C. Immunocytochemical evidence for colocalization in neurite growth cones of actin and myosin and their relationship to cell--substratum adhesions. Dev Biol. 1981 Jul 15;85(1):113–122. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(81)90240-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Letourneau P. C. Possible roles for cell-to-substratum adhesion in neuronal morphogenesis. Dev Biol. 1975 May;44(1):77–91. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(75)90378-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Lin D. C., Tobin K. D., Grumet M., Lin S. Cytochalasins inhibit nuclei-induced actin polymerization by blocking filament elongation. J Cell Biol. 1980 Feb;84(2):455–460. doi: 10.1083/jcb.84.2.455. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. MacLean-Fletcher S., Pollard T. D. Mechanism of action of cytochalasin B on actin. Cell. 1980 Jun;20(2):329–341. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(80)90619-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Maruyama K., Hartwig J. H., Stossel T. P. Cytochalasin B and the structure of actin gels. II. Further evidence for the splitting of F-actin by cytochalasin B. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1980 Dec 16;626(2):494–500. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Menko A. S., Toyama Y., Boettiger D., Holtzer H. Altered cell spreading in cytochalasin B: a possible role for intermediate filaments. Mol Cell Biol. 1983 Jan;3(1):113–125. doi: 10.1128/mcb.3.1.113. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Schliwa M. Action of cytochalasin D on cytoskeletal networks. J Cell Biol. 1982 Jan;92(1):79–91. doi: 10.1083/jcb.92.1.79. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Schliwa M., van Blerkom J. Structural interaction of cytoskeletal components. J Cell Biol. 1981 Jul;90(1):222–235. doi: 10.1083/jcb.90.1.222. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Weber K., Rathke P. C., Osborn M., Franke W. W. Distribution of actin and tubulin in cells and in glycerinated cell models after treatment with cytochalasin B (CB). Exp Cell Res. 1976 Oct 15;102(2):285–297. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(76)90044-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Yamada K. M., Spooner B. S., Wessells N. K. Ultrastructure and function of growth cones and axons of cultured nerve cells. J Cell Biol. 1971 Jun;49(3):614–635. doi: 10.1083/jcb.49.3.614. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Cell Biology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES