Abstract
1. 1. We have used freeze-fracture electron microscopy to examine the effects of cooling on the core ultrastructure of the plasma and nuclear membranes of normal thymocytes and lymph node cells, as well as concanavalin A-treated thymocytes and mouse lymphoma cells. 2. 2. Chilling below 22 °C produces smooth areas, free of intramembranous particles on both faces of both inner and outer nuclear membranes. This effect is reversible and can be prevented by glutaraldehyde fixation. 3. 3. Plasma membranes, in contrast to the nuclear membranes, exhibit no change in freeze-fracture morphology upon cooling. 4. 4. We hypothesize that the changes observed in the nuclear membranes represent thermotropic lipid phase transitions and that such transitions either do not occur in plasma membranes or are there constrained to very small regions.
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Schedule a callMore From: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes
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