VARIATION IN INTER-CELLULAR EXCHANGE BETWEEN CULTURED L-CELLS

Intercellular junctions permeable to fluorescein sodium were studied with the aid of intracellular glass microelectrodes in the cultures of transformed mouse-embryo cells (L-strain). The degree of coupling was correlated with the cell culture density. In addition, the degree of coupling increased after short-time incubation of the cells with 1 mM lanthanum. Such an incubation did not influence other features of cells: the value of the membrane potential, the character of growth or the inclusion of the vital dye neutral red. Some other factors stimulated cellular aggregation (concanavalin A, protamine, decreasing the pH) but did not influence the degree of coupling.