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Molecular Orientation at the Surface of Amoebae during Pinocytosis

Abstract

PINOCYTOSIS1 or cell-drinking appears to be a method for the uptake of molecules to which the cell membrane is impermeable2. In Amoebae the phenomenon may be identified by the formation of many short pseudopods each containing a central channel 1µ or more in diameter; droplets of fluid pinch off from this channel and migrate into the interior of the cell3. Recently, pinocytosis has become the subject of considerable physiological experimentation2,4–6. By means of fluorescein-labelled proteins, Brandt5 demonstrated that proteins inducing pinocytosis are attached to the cell membrane of Amoebae. Schumaker6 obtained results on the rate of uptake of radioactive proteins which lead to a similar conclusion.

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RUSTAD, R. Molecular Orientation at the Surface of Amoebae during Pinocytosis. Nature 183, 1058–1059 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/1831058a0

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