Immunofluorescent studies on microtubules of normal and malignant human esophageal cells

Anti-tubulin antibody indirect immunofluorescence microscopy is used in this report. Difference of intracellular microtubule fluorescent staining patterns between normal and malignant human esophageal cells has been observed. Primarily cultured human esophageal epithelial cells display an elaborate array of fluorescent cytoplasmic microtubule filaments, the cytoplasmic microtubule complex (CMTC), in interphase cells and mitotic spindle microtubules in mitotic cells. Malignant esophageal cells from human esophageal carcinoma, ECa109 cells, contain very few cytoplasmic microtubules in interphase cells, but there is no difference of mitotic spindle microtubule fluorescence between normal and malignant cells. The results presented in this report suggest that the diminution of interphase cytoplasmic microtubules in tumor cells is probably due to the deficiency of microtubule organizing mechanism in interphase tumor cells.