Expression of intermediate filaments in cultured cells

作者：Ismo Virtanen, V P Lehto, Eero Lehtonen, TAPIO VARTIO, Sebastian Stenman, Pekka Kurki, O. Wager, J. V. Small, Doris C. Dahl, R. ANDREW BADLEY · 发表于：Journal of Cell Science · 年份：1981 · DOI：10.1242/jcs.50.1.45 · 被引用次数：297 · 研究领域：Skin and Cellular Biology Research、Cell Adhesion Molecules Research、Cellular Mechanics and Interactions

ABSTRACT The occurrence of different types of intermediate filaments in primary cultures of cells and in cultured cell lines was studied by the indirect immunofluorescence (IFL) technique. The antibodies used were spontaneous monoclonal human antibodies of immunoglobulin M (IgM) class against vimentin-type intermediate filaments (fibroblast 58 × 103 mol. wt subunit protein), and experimental rabbit antibodies of IgG class against vimentin, desmin (muscle 55 × 103 mol. wt subunit protein), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFA), 68 × 103 mol. wt neurofilament polypeptide and human keratin polypeptides. Cultured fibroblasts from different species, and both aortic and venous endothelial cells, showed a fibrillar cytoplasmic fluorescence when stained with antibodies against vimentin. On the other hand, in cultures of chicken embryonal fibroblasts, cells showing a bright desminspecific fluorescence, but lacking vimentin-βpecific staining, were seen even after several subcultivations. The presence of both desmin and vimentin polypeptides in these cultures was also confirmed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In chicken fibroblast cultures the 2 types of intermediate filaments were not expressed simultaneously in individual cells, whereas in baby hamster kidney (BHK-21) cells and human rhabdomyosarcoma cells a variable co-staining with anti-vimentin and anti-desmin antibodies could be seen. In contrast, cultured human fibrosarcoma cells and simian virus 40-transformed human fibro...