The viability and capacity for further division, following tripolar mitosis, of cells of a murine ascites carcinoma in vitro

Dose-dependent spatiotemporal responses of mammalian cells to an alkylating agent

Cultured cell populations are composed of heterogeneous cells, and previous single-cell lineage tracking analysis of individual HeLa cells provided empirical evidence for significant heterogeneity of the rate of cell proliferation and induction of cell death. Nevertheless, such cell lines have been used for investigations of cellular responses to various substances, resulting in incomplete characterizations. This problem caused by heterogeneity within cell lines could be overcome by investigating the spatiotemporal responses of individual cells to a substance. However, no approach to investigate the responses by analyzing spatiotemporal data is currently available. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the spatiotemporal responses of individual HeLa cells to cytotoxic, sub-cytotoxic, and non-cytotoxic doses of the well-characterized carcinogen, N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). Although cytotoxic doses of MNNG are known to induce cell death, the single-cell tracking approach revealed that cell death occurred following at least four different cellular events, suggesting that cell death is induced via multiple processes. We also found that HeLa cells exposed to a sub-cytotoxic dose of MNNG were in a state of equilibrium between cell proliferation and cell death, with cell death again induced through different processes. However, exposure of cells to a non-cytotoxic dose of MNNG promoted growth by reducing the cell doubling time, thus promoting the growth of a sub-population of cells. A single-cell lineage tracking approach could dissect processes leading to cell death in a spatiotemporal manner and the results suggest that spatiotemporal data obtained by tracking individual cells can be used as a new type of bioinformatics data resource that enables the examination of cellular responses to various external substances.

Single-cell lineage tracking analysis reveals that an established cell line comprises putative cancer stem cells and their heterogeneous progeny

Mammalian cell culture has been used in many biological studies on the assumption that a cell line comprises putatively homogeneous clonal cells, thereby sharing similar phenotypic features. This fundamental assumption has not yet been fully tested; therefore, we developed a method for the chronological analysis of individual HeLa cells. The analysis was performed by live cell imaging, tracking of every single cell recorded on imaging videos, and determining the fates of individual cells. We found that cell fate varied significantly, indicating that, in contrast to the assumption, the HeLa cell line is composed of highly heterogeneous cells. Furthermore, our results reveal that only a limited number of cells are immortal and renew themselves, giving rise to the remaining cells. These cells have reduced reproductive ability, creating a functionally heterogeneous cell population. Hence, the HeLa cell line is maintained by the limited number of immortal cells, which could be putative cancer stem cells.

Methylmercury, but not inorganic mercury, causes abnormality of centrosome integrity (multiple foci of gamma-tubulin), multipolar spindles and multinucleated cells without microtubule disruption in cultured Chinese hamster V79 cells

Abnormalities of centrosome integrity and spindle organization in the cultured Chinese hamster fibroblast cell line V79 exposed to methylmercury (MeHgCl) and inorganic mercury (Hg(2+)) were investigated in conjunction with inductions of mitotic arrest and multinucleated cells. The centrosome integrity and spindle organization were investigated by immunofluorescence of centrosome proteins, gamma-tubulin, and beta-tubulin, respectively. MeHgCl at subtoxic concentrations caused an increase in mitotic index 6 h after exposure. Ameboid cells with multiple pseudopodia were also induced and chromosomes were distributed even in the pseudopodia. After the increase in mitotic index caused by MeHgCl, multinucleated cells with multiple micronuclei appeared. MeHgCl caused abnormality of centrosome integrity (multiple foci of gamma-tubulin) colocalized with aberrant spindles in a concentration-dependent manner, while it did not cause disruption of centrosome integrity and microtubule organization in interphase cells. In addition, MeHgCl led to the appearance of monoastral cells with a one-dot signal of gamma-tubulin. By contrast, Hg(2+) did not cause any of the changes induced by MeHgCl. Thus, MeHgCl caused centrosome abnormality and the related changes without microtubule disruption, suggesting that the mitotic centrosome is a critical target for the cytotoxic effects of MeHgCl.

Induction of multiple microtubule-organizing centers, multipolar spindles and multipolar division in cultured V79 cells exposed to diethylstilbestrol, estradiol-17beta and bisphenol A

Inducibility of multipolar spindles and multipolar division by diethylstilbestrol (DES) and estradiol-17beta (E2) was investigated in terms of the mechanism of induction of aneuploidy by the estrogens. DES, E2 and bisphenol A (Bp-A), a structural analogue of DES, caused mitotic arrest and aberrant spindles, such as tripolar and multipolar spindles, in a concentration-dependent manner. Gamma-tubulin, a well-characterized component of microtubule-organizing centers (MTOCs), was co-localized with the aberrant spindles induced by estrogens and Bp-A. The number of gamma-tubulin signals in the mitotic cells coincided with that of the aberrant spindles and rose with an increasing concentration of the chemicals. The incidence and location of gamma-tubulin in interphase cells were not influenced by the chemicals. These results suggest that multiple MT nucleating sites were induced by the estrogens and Bp-A during the transition from interphase to the mitotic phase. DES, E2 and Bp-A induced multipolar division in a concentration-dependent process associated with the induction of aneuploidy.

Distribution of gamma-tubulin in multipolar spindles and multinucleated cells induced by dimethylarsinic acid, a methylated derivative of inorganic arsenics, in Chinese hamster V79 cells

Localization of gamma-tubulin, a well-characterized component of microtubule-organizing centers (MTOCs), was investigated because of interest in the mechanism of the induction of aberrant mitotic spindles in Chinese hamster V79 cells exposed to dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA). In control cultures, gamma-tubulin in interphase cells was located as a perinuclear dot on which the microtubules were nucleated. In metaphase cells, the location of gamma-tubulin coincided with that of the mitotic spindle poles. DMAA caused mitotic delay and aberrant spindles, such as tripolar- and quadripolar spindles, in the mitotic cells. Gamma-tubulin was co-localized with the aberrant spindles induced by DMAA. The incidence of gamma-tubulin in the mitotic cells coincided with that of the aberrant spindles and rose with an increasing concentration of DMAA. By contrast, DMAA did not influence the number and location of gamma-tubulin signals in interphase cells. These results suggest that multiple microtubule nucleation sites were induced by DMAA during transition from interphase to mitotic phase. DMAA-induced multiple signals of gamma-tubulin were integrated into one signal at the center of multinucleated cells, surrounded by multiple nuclei as the cell cycle progressed to the next interphase, suggesting the presence of a self-integration mechanism of centrosomal MTOCs during the cell cycle.