PKC-Mediated ZYG1 Phosphorylation Induces Fusion of Myoblasts as well as of Dictyostelium Cells

Figure 6

Behavior of C2C12 cells (myoblasts) transfected with the ha/mzyg1 fusion gene. C2C12 cells were transfected with the ha gene (control; a, c) or ha/mzyg1 fusion gene (HA/ZYG1; b, d), fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde and stained by antibodies and DAPI according to the methods described in Section 2. Phase-contrast micrographs on the upper sides represent the same field as the merged images of FITC and DAPI on the lower sides ((a) and (c), (b) and (d)). C2C12 cells expressing the HA/ZYG1 fusion protein stained with the anti-HA antibody and then FITC-conjugated anti-mouse secondary antibody are detected as the green-colored cells under a fluorescence microscope though a considerable number of cells are intermingled as untransfected ones in the population (d). Nuclei stained with DAPI are shown as purple color by UV-excitation (c and d). The transfection rate with the ha/mzyg1 gene was 36.8 ± 8%. The expression of HA protein in control cells was scarcely detected (c). Bar: 100 μm.