Effect of microtubules and intermediate filaments on mitochondrial distribution

The laser dye rhodamine 123 specifically stains mitochondria in living cells and facilitates the observation of changes in mitochondrial distribution in single cells under a variety of experimental conditions. Visualization of mitochondria in a number of cell lines followed by processing of these cells to study different cytoskeletal elements by indirect immunofluorescence, revealed good but not absolute correlation between mitochondria and microtubules or intermediate filaments. Mitochondria and microfilament distribution within the same cell did not show such a correlation. On the basis of observations made by various experimental approaches, we suggest that mitochondrial distribution is under the strong influence of the two systems, microtubules and intermediate filaments. Neither plays an absolute role but one seems able to play a more dominant role in the absence of the other.