Visualization of a system of filaments 7-10 nm thick in cultured cells of an epithelioid line (Pt K2) by immunofluorescence microscopy.

During our studies with antibodies against structural proteins of the cytoskeleton of eukaryotic cells we have observed that sera from many normal rabbits decorate a fiber system in cells of the established rat kangaroo cell line Pt K2. The display and organization of these fibers are different from those of microfilament bundles (decorated by antibody to actin) and microtubules (decorated by antibody to tubulin). This new fiber system can be further distinguished by its resistance to reorganization when cells are treated with Colcemid or cytochalasin B. The decoration of this fiber system is not detected if Pt K2 cells are fixed with formaldehyde. Such sera also appear to decorate swirls of perinuclear fibers in mouse Neuro 2a cells, and in mouse 3T3 cells treated with mitotic drugs. Comparison of the immunofluorescence pictures with electron microscopic data suggests that the sera are visualizing bundles of intermediate 7- to 10-nm filaments.