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Dynamics of the cytoskeleton in Amoeba proteus

I. Redistribution of microinjected fluorescein-labeled actin during locomotion, immobilization and phagocytosis

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Summary

Fluorescein-labeled muscle actin was microinjected into Amoeba proteus and followed during intracellular redistribution by means of the image-intensification technique. The fully polymerizationcompetent protein becomes part of the endogenous actomyosin system undergoing dynamic changes over time periods of several hours. Singleframe analysis of long-term sequences enabled the direct demonstration of both the contractile activities and morphological transformations of microfilaments in normally locomoting, immobilized and phagocytozing specimens.

In normally locomoting cells the filament layer undergoes continuous changes in spatial distribution depending on the actual pattern of cytoplasmic streaming and cell shape. The highest degree of differentiation is always maintained in the intermediate region between the front and the uroid, thus indicating this segment of the cortex to be the most important site in generating motive force for pseudopodium formation and ameboid movement.

In immobilized cells contracted by the application of ruthenium red or relaxed by different anesthetics, the filament layer forms a continuous thick sheath beneath the cell surface or becomes completely disintegrated. In phagocytozing cells the local polymerization of actin at the tip of pseudopodia forming the food-cup and around the nascent phagosome points to a significant participation of the actomyosin system in the process of capturing and constricting prey organisms.

Although our results provide clear evidence for the overall importance of motive force generation according to the hydraulic pressure theory, some motile phenomena exist in Amoeba proteus that cannot exclusively be explained by this mechanism.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Cytology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Wilhelm Stockem, Hans-Ulrich Hoffmann & Bärbel Gruber

Authors
  1. Wilhelm Stockem
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  2. Hans-Ulrich Hoffmann
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  3. Bärbel Gruber
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Additional information

The authors wish to thank Dipl. Chem. R. Beck for preparing the IAF-labeled actin and Prof. Dr. D. Kessler for discussion and reading the manuscript. The investigation was supported by a grant (Sto 126/1-3) from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

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Stockem, W., Hoffmann, HU. & Gruber, B. Dynamics of the cytoskeleton in Amoeba proteus . Cell Tissue Res. 232, 79–96 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00222375

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