EFFECT OF THE PSV2-NEO PLASMID ON NIH 3T3 CELL MOTION DETECTED ELECTRICALLY

Advantage was taken of DNA transfection techniques to investigate the effect of the pSV2-neo plasmid and its derivatives on recipient NIH 3T 3 cell motion. Cell spreading and motion were followed by a newly deve loped electrical method to monitor cell morphology, referred to as ele ctric cell-substrate impedance sensing. Using this method, we found th at the eukaryotic-prokaryotic shuttle vector pSV2-neo had a strong eff ect on the recipient NIH 3T3 cell spreading and cell motion. However, two new neo plasmids, pSK-neo and pSP-neo, which were constructed by m odifying the pSV2-neo plasmid, did not have a significant effect on th e recipient cell activities. The results suggest that there may be som e sequences in pSV2-neo which affect recipient cell behavior. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.