Cell Contacts: Some Physical Considerations

作者：Adam S.G. Curtis · 发表于：The American Naturalist · 年份：1960 · DOI：10.1086/282107 · 被引用次数：130 · 研究领域：Cellular Mechanics and Interactions、Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity、Polymer Surface Interaction Studies

The rheological and adhesive properties which the cell surface may possess have been adduced from the known physical and chemical properties of the surfaces of cells and artificial systems. It is shown, using the Verwey-Overbeek theory of the interaction of like surfaces, that cells will form stable adhesions when separated by 100-200 Å, without there being any cementing material between them, though its existence is not precluded. On physical grounds it is shown that the form of interaction of the surfaces proposed for adhering cells by Weiss, Steinberg, and others is unlikely to occur. However, these schemes may explain the interaction of unlike surfaces, for example, sperm-egg relations and phagocytosis etc. Consideration of the chemistry of surfaces suggests that the non-newtonian viscous properties of the surface and its adhesiveness are closely related. On this basis a set of physical conditions have been proposed for various cell surfaces, and it is shown how these would produce the types of contact behavior which have been described for them. For fibroblasts the phenomenon of contact inhibition, the mode of movement, and their tendency to being monopolar have been examined. By proposing slightly different properties for sarcoma cells, reaggregating cells, and epithelia, it is possible to account for the types of contact behavior which they show. An explanation for the specific adhesion of like cell types is advanced.