Vinblastine-induced autophagocytosis in Ehrlich ascites cells
Abstract
Quantitative electron microscopic analysis was made of vinblastine-induced autophagocytosis in cultured Ehrlich ascites cells in order to test the suitability of the cells as a model in studies of the mechanism of autophagocytosis. The cells were incubated for 2 h in a medium containing 10-4 M vinblastine. Samples for morphometric analysis were collected after 3 min, 30 min, 1 h and 2 h incubations. The volume density of autophagosomes had already increased significantly (approximately 15-fold; p<0.05) within 3 min during vinblastine incubation when compared with the controls. This difference between vinblastine-incubated and control cells was maintained throughout the remaining experimental period. The increase in the volume density of autophagosomes was due to the significant increase in their number. We suggest that the experimental model presented offers a useful tool for further studies on induced autophagocytosis.