3 Hours of a Cancer Cell Dividing- in 30 Seconds

It is timelapse fluorescence microscopy video of a dividing cancer cell in 3D tissue culture.

The cell is expressing a fluorescently-tagged version of a protein (EB1) that binds to growing microtubule ends and also localizes to the spindle poles.

This highlights the highly dynamic microtubule cytoskeleton in the spindle, and also shows astral microtubules extending toward the cell periphery.

The different colours represent different focal planes giving a more 3D impression. At the beginning of the video, it can be seen how the duplicated centrosomes move around the cell nucleus and then form the poles on opposite ends of the mitotic spindle apparatus.

Although chromosomes themselves are not labelled, they can be seen as darker shadows in the cytoplasm.

The cell eventually divides apparently without all chromosomes having aligned correctly in the middle of the spindle, leading to aneuploidy, one of the hallmarks of cancer.

More Microscope for observing: China Phonefix
Credit: Dr Torsten Wittmann / Science Photo Library
K007/4486