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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1974 May;71(5):1992–1994. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.5.1992

Differences in Membrane Fluidity and Structure in Contact-Inhibited and Transformed Cells*

Ronald E Barnett *,, Leo T Furcht *,, Robert E Scott *,
PMCID: PMC388370  PMID: 4365580

Abstract

Studies on contact-inhibited mouse embryo fibroblast 3T3 cells and 3T3 cells transformed by oncogenic RNA and DNA viruses and by a chemical carcinogen have demonstrated differences in plasma membrane architecture. Spin-label and freeze-fracture ultrastructural studies have shown that contact-inhibited cells have ordered membrane lipids and aggregated intramembranous particles, whereas transformed cells have fluid membrane lipids and randomly distributed intramembranous particles. These findings suggest a model for how changes in the cell membrane may account for some of the characteristic differences observed between contact-inhibited and transformed cells.

Keywords: electron paramagnetic resonance, freeze fracture electron microscopy, viral transformation, cell proliferation

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1992

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Selected References

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