Assemblies of intramembranous particles in astrocytoma: a preliminary report

A human astrocytoma has been studied with the freeze-fracture technique. The astrocytic membrane presents many assemblies formed by aggregations of intramembranous particles (5.8-7.8 nm in diameter) in P-face arranged in a square, and complementary pit assemblies in E-face. In the interastrocytic gap junctions the connexions are packed in a crystalline array.