Fig. 5.

Effect of allicin on the actin cytoskeleton and cell morphology of mouse fibroblasts. Mouse L929 fibroblasts (A, F) were exposed to different concentrations of allicin (B-E, G) for 10 min and stained with rhodamine-phalloidin to visualize the change in the actin cytoskeleton. DAPI was used to stain the nuclei. The stained fibroblasts are shown before (A) and after treatment with 25 µM (B), 50 µM (C), 75 µM (D) or 100 µM allicin (E) for 10 min. Single cells are displayed at a higher magnification under control conditions (F) and after treatment with 100 µM allicin (G). The cytoplasmic branches of the actin cytoskeleton are completely lost in allicin-treated cells, which develop spherical cellular morphologies. The actin filaments in the fibroblasts become amorphous, which indicates a strong effect of allicin on the actin cytoskeleton. A-E scale bar = 50 µm, F-G scale bar = 10 µm.