Cell Locomotion in Vitro : Techniques and Observations PDF
Preview Cell Locomotion in Vitro : Techniques and Observations
CELL LOCOMOTION IN VITRO CROOM HELM APPLIED BIOLOGY SERIES Edited by Peter J. Baron, BSc. Hans, PhD NUTRITION AND DISEASE Edited by R. J. Jarrett THE NATURE OF ENZYMOLOGY R. L. Foster NUTRITION AND FOOD PROCESSING H. G. Muller and G. Tobin THE MASTERPIECE OF NATURE: The Evolution and Genetics of Sexuality L. G. Bell TOXIC HAZARDS IN FOOD D. M. Conning and A. B. G. Lansdown Clll lOCOMOTION II r11', Techniques and Observations c. A. Middleton and J. A. Sharp CROOM HELM London & Canberra © 1984 C.A. Middleton and J .A. Sharp Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1984 Croom Helm Ltd, Provident House, Burrell Row, Beckenham, Kent BR3 lAT Croom Helm Australia, PO Box 391, Manuka, ACT 2603, Australia British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Middleton, C.A. Cell locomotion in vitro. 1. Cells-Mobility I. Title II. Sharp, J .A. 599.08'76 QH647 ISBN 978-1-4615-9774-2 ISBN 978-1-4615-9772-8 (eBook) DOl 10.1007/978-1-4615-9772-8 CONTENTS Preface Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. The Cultivation of Cells in vitro 3. Light and Electron Microscopy of Cultured Cells 4. Cytoplasmic Filaments 5. Microtubules 6. Cell Locomotion in Culture 7. The Social Behaviour of Cells in Culture Index PREFACE It is ten years since the first symposium on cell locomotion was held (Locomotion of Tissue Cells, Ciba Foundation Symposium 14, 1972). That meeting was chaired by Michael Abercrombie, and in his intro- ductory remarks he commented on the extent to which the importance of cell locomotion, apart from that seen in leucocytes, had been under- estimated. Much has been done to correct that neglect during the suc- ceeding decade, and we have learned more about the underlying mechanisms of cell locomotion and about the factors which may influence it. Abercrombie was himself a major contributor to this field of research (as a glance at the lists of references in this book will confirm), and his ideas inspired the work of many other investigators. As in all branches of science, progress in the study of celliocomo- tion has depended on the availability of appropriate experimental techniques. Of these, tissue culture has made the greatest contribution, in conjunction with a variety of procedures using either the light or the electron microscope. We have, therefore, attempted, in chapters 2 and 3, to provide explanations of the techniques which have been parti- cularly fruitful, but only in sufficient detail to permit the reader to grasp their essentials; this book is not a laboratory manual. In the remaining chapters our aim has been to present an outline of the existing state of knowledge about the locomotion of cells in culture and the mechanisms which may subserve it. This is intended for under- graduates, or those embarking on a postgraduate course, or anyone in need of a succinct account of this important area of biological research. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank Dr Jeremy Hyams for reading, and advising us on, part of the manuscript; remaining errors or misconceptions are entirely our own. We thank all those who have made illustrative material available to us; they are named individually in the legends to the figures. We also thank Mrs C.A. Peters and Mrs H.M. Sharp for the skill and care with which they prepared the typescript. INTRODUCTION 1 Locomotion is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as 'the action or power of moving from place to place'. This book is an attempt to outline our knowledge of the mechanisms which enable living cells to move from place to place within the body of an animal, and to explain some of the experimental techniques which have contributed to this knowledge. Cell locomotion is, of course, only one aspect of the more general phenomenon of cellular motility which has been studied in systems as diverse as bacterial flagella, plant cytoplasm and striated muscle. We have chosen to concentrate here on the processes associated with the movement of cells in tissue culture. Although we shall make use of data derived from other experimental systems, we feel that, at present, the study of living cells moving in tissue culture offers the most fruitful approach to understanding the mechanisms underlying, and the influ- ences which control, cell locomotion in vivo. Apart from the basic desire to satisfy their curiosity about a parti- cular natural phenomenon, there is another, perhaps more cogent, reason why biologists wish to learn as much as possible about cell locomotion. The active migration of cells is of basic importance in the establishment of the structure of the body during embryonic develop- ment; after birth, it is equally vital in the healing of wounds and the protection of the body against infection by bacteria and viruses; and it is one of the most sinister features of the abnormal behaviour of cancer cells. Hence a better understanding of cell locomotion, clarifying both the intrinsic mechanisms within the cell and the factors which normally control the movement, is likely to contribute significantly to research in embryology and immunology, and to the study of the behaviour of cancer cells, three areas of biology in which fundamental problems remain to be solved. Cell Locomotion in Embryology Embryology furnishes numerous striking examples of shifts of tissues relative to each other, moving either as compact masses or as groups of individual cells. Indeed, the processes molding the early 2 Introduction embryo after cleavage are predominantly in the nature of transloca- tions rather than growth. Practically the whole germ is on the move. Later, after the basic form has become fixed, mobility is restricted to certain cell types which move within the now consolidated frame. The neural crest, for instance, spreads into the interstices of the embryonic body, laying down different cell types at different stations: ganglion cells along the vertebral column, sheath cells along the nerve fibers, pigment cells along predetermined lines in the integument and its derivatives, and, at least in Amphibians, cartilage for certain elements of the head skeleton. There is circumstantial evidence that these various cell types are already different in character when they leave their common sites of origin. What, then, guides each to its proper fmal destination? (Weiss, 1947) Since these words were written, the movement of groups of cells from place to place within the embryo has been the subject of continuing research by experimental embryologists. Confirmation of the impor- tance of the particular example cited by Weiss, the migration of neural crest cells, has recently been provided by an elegant technique applied at the Institut d'Embryologie at Nogent-sur-Marne by I.e Douarin and Le Uevre. 'Their method relies upon the fact that there are easily recognisable differences between the interphase nuclei in two related species of birds, the Japanese quail (Cotumix cotumix japonica) and the chick (Gallus gallus) (I.e Lievre and I.e Douarin, 1975). By excising a piece of the neural tube and associated neural crest from a chick embryo and transplanting the corresponding portion of a quail embryo of the same age, it is possible to follow the subsequent migration of the quail neural crest cells within the chick embryo and to define precisely the eventual distribution and differentiation of these cells. Such experi- ments have established that neural crest cells spread out to form a variety of tissues, including, for example, the visceral skeleton, the dermis of the face and ventrolateral side of the neck, the walls of arteries, and the connective tissues in the thymus, thyroid and para- thyroid glands (Figure 1.1). Although they provide conclusive proof of the extent and the importance of the contribution made by the neural crest, these experiments do not, of course, throw any light on the mechanisms which operate within the cells during their migration, nor do they offer any answer to the fundamental question posed by Weiss - what guides each to its,proper fmal destination? Introduction 3 Figure 1.1: Diagram showing the migration of neural crest cells in the head and branchial arch regions of a chick embryo. Cells from the prosencephalon migrate to the frontal region (Pro.N.C.), those from the mesencephalon are found in the facial area (Mes.N.C.), while rhombencephalic neural crest cells migrate into the branchial arches (Rho.N.C.). (Redrawn from Le Douarin, 1979.) o Pro. N.C. rIa Mes.N.C. ~Rho.N.C.
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