[Morphology of the microtubule system in mouse kidney epithelial cells]

The cultured mouse kidney cells forming epithelial sheets were studied using an indirect immunofluorescence microscopy with antibodies against tubulin. These cells, as well as fibroblasts, were found to contain a well developed microtubular system sensitive to colcemid. The assembly of microtubules after washing out of colcemid began from one or two perinuclear centers, associated with the cilium-like structure. There were certain differences between the microtubular systems in epithelial cells and fibroblasts: 1) Microtubules in the fibroblasts penetrated the whole cytoplasm including the peripheral lamella whereas in the epithelial cells the lamellar cytoplasm was often free from microtubules. 2) The orientation of microtubules in the epithelial cells, unlike in the fibroblasts, was not correlated with the stable or active state of the cell margin. A possible role of microtubular system in the epithelial cells and fibroblasts is compared and discussed.