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This circular sea urchin cell exhibits an elaborate actin cytoskeleton that flows rapidly between the cell periphery and the cell center. Wounds sometime appear in the cytoplasm of these very thin cells, and two are depicted in this image at the 12 o'clock position just above the nucleus and also at the 4 o'clock position. The image was produced using specific antibodies that had been labeled with differently colored fluorescent tags: red for actin and green for Arp2/3, a protein complex that promotes the polymerization of the actin cytoskeleton. Note that actin and Arp2/3 are especially concentrated at the wound edges suggesting that Arp2/3-mediated actin polymerization is involved in wound closure. Actin and Arp2/3 are also evident in the terminal cytoskeletal web located at the cell periphery. From Henson et al., 2002, Mol. Biol. Cell 13, 1001-1014, E-mail: henson{at}dickinson.edu for information on the use of coelomocytes and confocal fluorescent microscopy in cell biology teaching laboratories.—John H. Henson
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