Effects of macromomycin on the ultrastructure and biological properties of cultured mammalian cells.

Macromomycin is shown to inhibit the biosynthesis of RNA, DNA, and protein in cultured cells of KB, HBL-100, SW-613, MCF-7, and A1Ab. There was no substantial increase in cell numbers in cultures containing macromomycin (5 microgram/ml), but after 24 to 48 hr the cells were two to three times the diameter of control cells with concomitant increase in cell protein. The ultrastructural changes induced by macromomycin in KB cells demonstrate an increase in nuclear size without similar changes in the size of other cytoplasmic subcellular units. It was of interest to note the general proliferation of cellular organelles and the increased occurrence of annulate lamellae followed, after prolonged treatment, by the appearance of larger numbers of lipid droplets and lysosomes; vacuoles developed to a significant extent after the cells detached from the monolayer. A1Ab cells show ultrastructural changes similar to those of KB cells when treated with macromomycin.