The effect of nicotine on cultured cells of vascular origin.

Monolayers of endothelial, smooth muscle and fibroblastic cells of healthy porcine, bovine or human fetal origin were treated with 10(-4) to 10(-9) M final concentrations of nicotine. The effect was registered as changes in the synthesis and polyimerization of the cytoskeleton. The silver and gold impregnation method produced anisotropy of the synthetic granules and of the final polymers of microtubules and filaments under physiological conditions as revealed by polarization microscopy. Since the orientation of the cells was inhomogeneous in the cultures, the organization of the orientation was expressed as the sum of alternative diagonal and orthogonal measuring of anisotropy by a computerized microraster morphometry system joined to an OPTON cytophotometer. The 8-day-old control and treated cultures were also examined by electronmicroscopy. Nicotine stimulated the synthesis and polyimerization of the cytoskeletal protein. This phenomenon is evident in smooth muscle cells, and partly also in endothelium. Fibroblasts were not influenced by the doses of nicotine tested.