In this study, we have investigated the properties of intermediate filament rearrangements using experimentally induced collapse of vimentin intermediate filaments in mouse fibroblasts. In these cells, depolymerizing microtubules by colchicine or vinblastine treatment at 37 degrees C results in a two-stage collapse of intermediate filaments. First, the vimentin filaments aggregate into large cables; then, the cables coil into a dense mass surrounding the nucleus. By using inhibitors of oxidative phosphorylation along with glucose deprivation to lower intracellular ATP levels by 95%, we have found that both stages of intermediate filament collapse require ATP. However, once collapse has occurred, only the second stage can be reversed in the absence of microtubules by lowering ATP levels. An additional difference between the two stages of collapse was revealed by treating cells with cytochalasin D: the formation of intermediate filament cables still occurs after disruption of the actin filament system by cytochalasin, but the subsequent coiling of cables to form a perinuclear mass is strongly inhibited by these conditions, and can be reversed by applying cytochalasin to cells in which intermediate filaments have already undergone complete collapse. We propose that the formation of vimentin cables involves a phosphorylation event, while the coiling of cables into a perinuclear mass relies on interaction of intermediate filaments with a component of the actin cortex.