Shape and motility, two interdependent features.

By the concurrent use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and time lapse cinematography the interdependence of cellular shape and motility was visualized for leukemia cells and for normal and malignant epithelial cells. During the different modes of motility (stationary without net translocation of the whole cell, and locomotion), the cells display a distinct configuration. This allows the interpretation of static images in terms usually reserved for the description of activities of living cells. The ability of cells to change shape is of special importance when they migrate in the body. Irrespective of nature and origin, these cells must continuously adapt their configuration to the structural elements which they encounter in their pathways. The existence of such an adaptability could be shown by time lapse films for leukemia cells and for cells of the V2 rabbit carcinoma moving in mesenteries of rat and rabbit, respectively.