Microtubule sliding in cilia of the rabbit trachea and oviduct

Evidence for active sliding of microtubules during ciliary activity has been demonstrated in a number of organisms: sea urchin sperm flagella, protozoan cilia, and mollusc gill cilia. Although there is evidence that active sliding also occurs in mammalian sperm flagella, there is little or no information on whether active sliding of microtubules also occurs in the short (5-micron) cilia of the mammalian trachea or oviduct. Since these cilia are important in tracheobronchial clearance and ovum transport, respectively, it has been important to demonstrate that microtubule sliding is also involved in the activity of somatic cilia. Ciliated apical portions (cortices) and cilia were isolated from rabbit trachea and oviduct, using Triton X-100 to demembranate the cilia. Most of the ciliated cortices reactivated upon addition of ATP, whereas isolated cilia reactivated to a lesser extent. When preparations of cilia were digested with trypsin before or after ATP addition, disintegration of axonemal doublets occurred with about the same frequency as reactivation. These events were recorded using Nomarski optics and dark-field microscopy. When isolated cilia which had been digested by trypsin and exposed to ATP were also prepared for electron microscopy by negative staining, telescoping of doublet microtubules from axonemes could be shown. These results demonstrate that mammalian somatic ciliary doublet microtubules actively slide in a manner similar to that described for invertebrate cilia.