Cytochalasin D-induced increase in actin synthesis and content in a variety of cell types.

Treatment of a variety of mesenchymal cells (normal and transformed rat fibroblasts, bovine aortic endothelial cells, rabbit smooth muscle cells), exhibiting different cytoskeletal organizations and derived from several species, with doses of cytochalasin D (CD, 2-6 microM for 20 h) sufficient to induce cytoskeletal rearrangement and altered cellular morphology results in an increase in the relative content and rate of synthesis of actin. These data extend our previous findings for HEp-2 cells to other cell types and provide further evidence for our hypothesis that the CD-induced cytoskeletal reorganization triggers stimulation of actin synthesis and the resulting increase in actin content.