Volume 1

Contemporary classics in the life sciences / edited by James T. Barrett.

Date:: ©1986-

Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Contemporary classics in the life sciences / edited by James T. Barrett. Source: Wellcome Collection.

39/400 (page 17)

r_This week's citation Martínez-Palomo A. The surface coats of animal cells. Int. Rev. Cytol. 29 :29-75, 1970. [Laboratorio de Microscopía Electrónica, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología, Mexico City, Mexico) The paper describes ultrastructural and cy- tochemical investigations on the peripheral components of animal cells which allow the recognition of two typvs of surface layers: (1) cell coats located on the outer surface of cells, and (2) basal and external laminas, which border the surface of epithelial and mesenchymal cells, respectively. [The SC/® indicates that this paper has been cited in over 255 publications since 1970 ] A. Martínez-Palomo Sección de Patología Experimental Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados 07000 Mexico City Mexico June 5, 1984 This article was written during 1968, while I was establishing a new electron mi croscopy laboratory at the National Insti tute of Cardiology of Mexico. During my postgraduate training at the Cancer Re search Institute at Villejuif, near Paris, France, I started, in 1965, working at the laboratory for electron microscopy headed by the late Wilhelm Bernhard. At that time, Bernhard's laboratory was steaming with new developments in the field of biological electron microscopy, including advanced techniques for autoradiography, immunocy- tochemistry, and cryomicrotomy. After completing an ultrastructural study of the replication of the oncogenic adenovirus 12, I started a project to analyze the structural modification of plasma mem branes in cancer cells, both in solid tumors and in cell cultures. The finding of a striking deficiency in cell junctions in malignant cells 1 ' 2 required only standard electron mi croscopic techniques. However, the study of the surface coats of tumor cells involved specialized cytochemical techniques, such as the ruthenium red method devised by Luft 3 and the phosphotungstic acid tech nique described by Rambourg. 4 With these techniques, we were able to demonstrate differences between normal and cancer cells in cultures, reported in this and other papers. 1 - 5 During the late 1960s, the information concerning the surface coat components of animal cells was sparse and dispersed among morphological, biochemical, and immuno logical reports. I felt the need for a critical review of the subject. The review was pre pared back in my Mexico City laboratory. In retrospect, I think that some of the advan tages that I had at that time, in order to com plete what was going to become a relatively well cited article, were a peaceful setting, time to carefully review the literature and conduct my observations, and the lack of a deadline. These conditions are hardly found at present when experimentation, teaching, and the writing of grant proposals leave lit tle spare time for thinking. The large number of reprint requests received —more than two thousand —indi cated that timeliness was one of the possible assets of the article. As stated in the paper, the purpose was to critically review, in the light of my own experience, knowledge on the nature of cell surface layers of animal ceHs. After its publication in 1970, a biblio graphic explosion in the field of surface components occurred, which continues even now. This subject, which 15 years ago could be covered in a single monograph, now requires several multiauthored series exclusively devoted to this important field of cell biology. 1. Martfnez-Palomo A, Brailovsky C & Bernhard W. Ultrastructural modifications of the cell surface and intercellular contacts in some transformed cell strains. Cancer Res 29:925-37, l%9. (Cited 135 times.) 2. Martínez-Palomo A. Ultrastructural modifications of intercellular junctions in some epithelial tumors. Lab Invest 22:605-14, 1970. (Cited 65 times.) -V I ufi J H. F ine structure of capillary and endocapillary layer as revealed by ruthenium red. led Hr<n 25:I~ 7 3-K3. I%tv (Cited 310 times.) 4 Rambourg A. An improved silver methenamine technique for the detection ol periodic-acid reactive complex carbohydrates with the electron microscope. J Histochem (.'yuwhem. 15 409-12. 19b 7 «Cited 200 times.) 5. Martfnez-Palomo A & Braflovsky C. Surface layer in tumor cells transformed by Adeno-12 and SV40 viruses Virology 34 39-M2, 19ti8. IC'ited 50 times.)