title: Morphology of cell injury: An approach to the EDIT programme by the use of tobacco pollen tubes. Evaluation-guided Development of New In Vitro Test Batteries.
abstract: Tobacco pollen tubes were used as a standard in vitro system to investigate cell growth aberrations caused by some of the Multicentre Evaluation of In Vitro Cytotoxicity (MEIC) programme chemicals and other toxic compounds. Changes in cytoskeletal pattern were observed in the tube cells by using tubulin immunofluorescence and rhodamin-phalloidin fluorescence for the localisation of microtubules and actin filaments, respectively. Four different types of cell malformation were found: screw-like growth, isodiametric tip swelling, hook formation, and pollen grain enlargement. We suggest that these malformations resulted from an interference by the chemicals with the cytosolic calcium gradient which controls tip growth and the orientation of the pollen tube. The results may contribute to a general understanding of toxicity-based cell malformations.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Allgemeine Botanik, Universität Hamburg, Ohnhorststrasse 18, 22609 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Udo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kristen
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bischoff
authors.forename: Saskia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lisboa
authors.forename: Enno
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schirmer
authors.forename: Sören
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Witt
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Quader
mesh_terms: D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D011058:Pollen / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014026:Nicotiana; D014116:Toxicology / Q000379:methods*