AbstractThe association between intermediate filaments (IF) and microtubules (MT) has been demonstrated by several experiments usingMTinhibitors and by microinjecting specific antibodies. The actin cytoskeleton has recently been assigned a role in this process of drug inducedIFcollapse. However, this was not found to be true in large cells with irregular morphology. For instance, in early passage diploid fibroblasts of human origin and in armadillo cell lines, where the cells are large, irregular in shape and exhibit prominent stress fibers (SF), depolymerization ofMTwith nocodazole did not lead to collapse ofIF. Instead, theIFformed bundles of coils that seemed to associate with theSF. Disintegration of the SF with cytochalasin B led to the collapse of theIF. It appears that the actin organization in such large cells with extensiveSF, is not as contractile as in typical spindle shaped fibroblasts which have relatively less stable actin organization. The stableSFmay actually preventIFcollapse.
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