In vitro migration of Hydra nematocytes: The influence of the natural extracellular matrix (the mesoglea), of collagen type IV and type I, laminin, and fibronectin on cell attachment, migration parameters, and on patterns of cytoskeletal proteins

We have established an in vitro migration system for nematocytes of the fresh water cnidarian Hydra. Nematocytes display a migratory behavior on isolated sheets of the naturally occurring extracellular matrix, the mesoglea, as well as on surfaces coated with collagen type IV or laminin. Cell behavior was analyzed using video microscopic techniques. Average migration speeds of nematocytes on the mesoglea (140 μm/hr) were lower than values reported from in vivo studies (500 μm/hr). Cells on collagen IV moved at about the same average speed (115 μm/hr) as nematocytes on the natural extracellular matrix; those on laminin were considerably slower (20 μm/hr). Attachment but no movement of cells was found on glass or on surfaces coated with collagen type I and fibronectin. In addition to the differential migration speeds, nematocytes displayed distinct morphologies depending on the substratum. In order to elucidate the causes of the observed cell shape and behavior modulations induced by the offered substratum, the arrangement of major cytoskeletal proteins in Hydra nematocytes during the in vitro migration or attachment was investigated. The pattern of F-actin, myosin, and tubulin was determined by immunocytochemical techniques and confocal laser scanning microscopy in nematocytes moving on the mesoglea, on collagen IV, and on laminin, or in cells attaching to fibronectin. We found that the distribution of the cytoskeletal proteins was strikingly different in moving and in stationary cells. The patterns of cytoskeletal proteins in all nematocytes moving on the different substrata, however, was quite similar.