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. 1989 Jan;86(2):549–553. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.2.549

Dynamic aspects of intermediate filament networks in BHK-21 cells.

K L Vikstrom 1, G G Borisy 1, R D Goldman 1
PMCID: PMC286509  PMID: 2643116

Abstract

A procedure was developed for the conjugation of vimentin with biotin. Biotinylated vimentin was then microinjected into BHK-21 cells and the fate of the labeled protein was determined at various times postinjection by indirect immunofluorescence. Microinjected vimentin could be traced through a specific sequence of morphological changes ultimately resulting in the formation of a filamentous network. The injected protein was first detected in spots dispersed throughout the cytoplasm. Subsequently, these spots appeared to cluster near the nucleus where they merged into a diffuse "cap." This cap coincided with a concentration of endogenous intermediate filaments and eventually gave rise to a filamentous network that was coincident with the endogenous intermediate filament network as determined by double-label immunofluorescence. The results indicate that the incorporation of exogenous vimentin into a filamentous network is initiated in a perinuclear region and progresses in a polarized fashion toward the cell surface.

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