[Changes in intercellular exchange intensity in an L cell culture]

Area of Science:

• Cell Biology
• Biophysics

Background:

• Intercellular junctions mediate communication between cells.
• Understanding factors influencing junctional permeability is crucial for cell signaling research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the factors affecting intercellular junctional permeability in transformed mouse-embryo cells (L-strain).
• To determine the effect of lanthanum and other agents on cell coupling.

Main Methods:

• Utilized intracellular glass microelectrodes to measure fluorescein sodium permeability across intercellular junctions.
• Cultured transformed mouse-embryo cells (L-strain) at varying densities.
• Incubated cells with 1mM lanthanum and other aggregating agents (concanavalin A, protamine, low pH).

Main Results:

• Cell coupling, indicative of junctional permeability, correlated positively with cell culture density.
• Short-term incubation with 1mM lanthanum significantly increased cell coupling.
• Lanthanum treatment did not alter membrane potential, growth patterns, or neutral red uptake.
• Cellular aggregation induced by concanavalin A, protamine, or decreased pH did not affect cell coupling.

Conclusions:

• Cell density influences intercellular communication.
• Lanthanum selectively enhances junctional permeability without broadly affecting cell physiology.
• Specific factors can induce cell aggregation independently of changes in intercellular junctional permeability.