Live-Cell Imaging: Cell Motility

Albino Swiss Mouse Embryo Fibroblasts (3T3 Line)

The 3T3 cell line is an important fibroblast culture, widely utilized in laboratory research, which was established from disaggregated tissue of an albino Swiss mouse (Mus musculus) embryo. Most 3T3 variants have been demonstrated to be negative for mousepox and for the polymerase reverse transcriptase, an indication of the absence of integral retrovirus genomes. When the 3T3 line was established in the early 1960s by George Todaro and Howard Green, the cells were considered somewhat of an anomaly. The majority of cell lines at that time induced tumors when they were injected into animal models, and it was generally accepted that for cells to be immortal, they must also be oncogenic. The fact that 3T3 cells could apparently grow indefinitely, while being unable to instigate tumor growth, helped scientists delineate for the first time the differences between cell mortality and a cell's ability to undergo oncogenic transformation.

3T3 Live Cell Video No. 1 - As if it were a ballerina outfitted in the traditional tutu, the 3T3 fibroblast twirls in a tight circle before it eventually commences migration toward the upper left-hand corner of the field of view, from whence the cell makes its exit. Choose a playback format that matches your Internet connection speed: 56.6k (modem), or T1/Cable/DSL (RealPlayer), or T1/Cable/DSL (Windows Media), or download this video clip in MPEG format (15.3 hour time-lapse sequence; 46 seconds run time - 19.5 MB).

3T3 Live Cell Video No. 2 - The surfaces of a pair of the 3T3 cells appear to boil, but the rapid bubbling is in reality the result of rapid changes in the actin cortices of the cells rather than exposure to heat. Choose a playback format that matches your Internet connection speed: 56.6k (modem), or T1/Cable/DSL (RealPlayer), or T1/Cable/DSL (Windows Media), or download this video clip in MPEG format (22 hour time-lapse sequence; 66 seconds run time - 27.6 MB).

3T3 Live Cell Video No. 3 - A binucleated 3T3 fibroblast remains relatively fixed in position as other fibroblasts migrate along its periphery through the extension and contraction of flattened lamellipodia and long, thin filopodia. Choose a playback format that matches your Internet connection speed: 56.6k (modem), or T1/Cable/DSL (RealPlayer), or T1/Cable/DSL (Windows Media), or download this video clip in MPEG format (20 hour time-lapse sequence; 60 seconds run time - 25.4 MB).

3T3 Live Cell Video No. 4 - One cannot help but wonder if the extremely long retraction fiber trailing behind the 3T3 cell attempting to progress out of the upper field of view is going to snap back into the central portion of the cell or is going to suddenly break, sacrificing bits of the cell’s cytoplasm, perhaps forever. Choose a playback format that matches your Internet connection speed: 56.6k (modem), or T1/Cable/DSL (RealPlayer), or T1/Cable/DSL (Windows Media), or download this video clip in MPEG format (24 hour time-lapse sequence; 72 seconds run time - 30.1 MB).

3T3 Live Cell Video No. 5 - Frequently when 3T3 cells come into contact with other cells during their migration across a culture dish, the fibroblasts alter their course in order to move more freely. At other times, however, the fibroblasts will crawl over other cells they find in their path, as demonstrated in this video. Choose a playback format that matches your Internet connection speed: 56.6k (modem), or T1/Cable/DSL (RealPlayer), or T1/Cable/DSL (Windows Media), or download this video clip in MPEG format (23 hour time-lapse sequence; 69 seconds run time - 29.1 MB).

3T3 Live Cell Video No. 6 - Due to limited space, the fibroblasts are necessarily in contact with multiple cells at any given moment. Even as they extend lamellipodia into the least occupied area and attempt to migrate along that path, temporary connections with neighboring cells are formed and are not easily broken. Choose a playback format that matches your Internet connection speed: 56.6k (modem), or T1/Cable/DSL (RealPlayer), or T1/Cable/DSL (Windows Media), or download this video clip in MPEG format (24 hour time-lapse sequence; 72 seconds run time - 30.4 MB).

3T3 Live Cell Video No. 7 - For a short time, the cell debris on the surface of the cover glass remains untouched in this time-lapse sequence, but then a migrating 3T3 fibroblast passes over the material and incorporates it into its own cytoplasm. Choose a playback format that matches your Internet connection speed: 56.6k (modem), or T1/Cable/DSL (RealPlayer), or T1/Cable/DSL (Windows Media), or download this video clip in MPEG format (19 hour time-lapse sequence; 57 seconds run time - 24.1 MB).

3T3 Live Cell Video No. 8 - The nucleus, nucleoli, and mitochondria can be readily observed in a single 3T3 Swiss mouse embryo fibroblast. Choose a playback format that matches your Internet connection speed: 56.6k (modem), or T1/Cable/DSL (RealPlayer), or T1/Cable/DSL (Windows Media), or download this video clip in MPEG format (24.3 hour time-lapse sequence; 73 seconds run time - 30.8 MB).

3T3 Live Cell Video No. 9 - Along the leading edge of each cell in this time-lapse sequence, significant ruffling occurs as lamellipodia are repeatedly drawn up from the culture medium and move toward the rear of the cell, eventually collapsing like waves breaking on a shore. Choose a playback format that matches your Internet connection speed: 56.6k (modem), or T1/Cable/DSL (RealPlayer), or T1/Cable/DSL (Windows Media), or download this video clip in MPEG format (23.3 hour time-lapse sequence; 70 seconds run time - 29.4 MB).