The cytoskeleton and proliferation of melanoma cells under hyperthermal conditions. A correlative double...

Hyperthermia provides a potent therapeutical tool of cancer treatment, the cell biological effects of which are fairly understood. In the present study we applied hyperthermal shocks of 42 degrees C and 44 degrees C to human melanoma cells under tissue culture conditions. The integrity of the microtubular (mT) system and rate of DNA replication was assessed by indirect immunofluorescence using antibodies to tubulin as an mT marker and to BrdU as an indicator for DNA replication. Through this approach we obtained evidence that heat (44 degrees C for 60 min) exerts a profound damaging effect on the mT system accompanied by a change in the phenotypical appearance of melanoma cells. DNA replication, however, was still in progress in a significant number of heavily afflicted cells. From these data we conclude that a therapeutic regiment combining hyperthermia and mT inhibitors might prove useful in the treatment of human melanomas.