Inhibition of cytokinesis in Friend leukemia cells by membrane mobility agents.

Treatment of a line of Friend leukemia cells with a dispersion of the membrane mobility agent, A2C, yields cells that undergo successive nuclear divisions without cytokinesis, resulting eventually in cells with as many as 30 nuclei. Neither the DNA replication rate of the cells nor the generation time is different after treatment; in addition, the multiple nuclei divide synchronously, and the chromosome number corresponds to the number of nuclei in the cell. Inhibition of cytokinesis is not observed if the cells are washed with reagent-free medium within 1 hr of treatment, but is observed if washing is delayed for 24 hr. Membrane mobility agent loaded with the fluorescent probe, Flomol F20C, leads to fluorescent membrane; fluorescence disappears from the membrane after a change of medium within 1 hr, but not after a change of medium within 24 hr. Some stages in the overall development resemble those seen for cytochalasin B inhibition of cytokinesis, although the mechanisms may well be different for the inhibition promoted by membrane mobility agent. The inhibition of cytokinesis by A2C provides a potentially interesting means of studying cytokinesis and the regulation of differentiation.