Actin cytoskeleton and motility in rat sarcoma cell populations with different metastatic potential

We have studied the organisation of the actin cytoskeleton in three related rat sarcoma cell populations of differing malignancy. They were derived by neoplastic progression from a population which had transformed spontaneously in vitro, and were distinguished by their ability to give rise to reproducibly different numbers of metastases, ranging from 10% to 80% of the animals inoculated. We found characteristic differences in the arrangement of the actin cytoskeleton. Confocal three-dimensional microscopy showed that nearly all of the least malignant population contained conspicuous actin stress fibres lying in the lower part of the cell parallel to the substratum and no other actin structures. Actin in the intermediate population was typically situated in a diffuse layer underlying the whole plasma membrane, in which no fibres could be seen. Two thirds of the most malignant population consisted of more rounded cells filled with a three-dimensional network of fine oblique actin fibres. There were focal contacts in all these cells; their area showed a regular decrease from 1.3 microns 2 to 0.4 microns 2. The differences in actin distribution were accompanied by differences in motility, which increased as malignancy increased. When individual cells were fixed after they had been tracked by time-lapse, their cytoskeleton type correlated with the speed at which they had moved. All these differences were enhanced at low pH. These findings point to the possibility that the three-dimensional network of fine actin fibres in acid culture could be a measure of the malignant potential of transformed cells in vitro.