FIGURE 1.

Glycocalyx. All cells carry a surface glycan coat which varies in size and composition. In the electron micrograph shown (magnification ×120,000), the glycan coat of a fibroblast in culture (BHK-21 cell) appears black after staining with ruthenium red. The underlying lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane is distinctly visible as a gray strand. The glycocalyx extends outward ∼40 nm, dwarfing the ∼6-nm-thick bilayer. [From Martinez-Palomo et al. (286). Reprinted by permission of the American Association for Cancer Research.]