Kinetic and morphological changes induced in human blood leucocytes by cytochalasin D and E

The effect of increasing concentrations of cytochalasin D and E, up to toxicity, on the velocity of blood leucocytes from normal subjects was measured in vitro using a high-resolution objective and phase-contrast time-lapse photography. The dose-response effect for the two different cytochalasins differed in accordance with the different cell specificity of their membrane binding. The average velocity of granulocytes was reduced at cytochalasin D concentrations above 5 x 10(-7)M and cytochalasin E concentrations above 5 x 10(-5)M. The effect on monocytes and eosinophils was similar. In contrast the velocity of lymphocytes was not affected until cytotoxic concentrations were reached. The concentration ranges which inhibited locomotion corresponded well with the concentration ranges of the cytochalasins which have an in vitro effect on microfilaments. The concentrations which induced additional morphological changes in lymphocytes also correlate well with the concentrations found to inhibit cross-linking in vitro, as well as those known to induce morphological changes in, for example, fibroblasts in vivo. Cytotoxic effects were first observed with ten-fold higher concentrations of cytochalasin E than of cytochalasin D.