Herbimycin A inhibits the association of p60v-src with the cytoskeletal structure and with phosphatidylinositol 3' kinase.

To search for the biochemical prerequisites for morphological transformation by p60v-src, we examined the effect of herbimycin A, a potent inhibitor of cell transformation, on chicken embryonic fibroblasts transformed by Rous sarcoma virus. A small dose of herbimycin (0.1-0.3 micrograms ml-1) was enough to convert the cell morphology to a normal phenotype with a concomitant reassembly of microfilament bundles. In the cells treated with the drug, the majority of the substrates for p60v-src remained phosphorylated and p60v-src was myristylated, membrane associated and fairly active as a protein kinase. Under the same conditions, however, the association of p60v-src with the cytoskeletal structure and with phosphatidylinositol 3' kinase was strongly inhibited, suggesting that the interactions of p60v-src with the cellular structure and the enzyme were indispensable for morphological transformation.