Passive acquisition of cell surface markers

From: Donald E. Mosier (dmosier@scripps.edu)
Date: Fri Aug 11 2000 - 15:55:53 EST


Colleaques-

A recent paper by M. Mack et al. (Nature Medicine 6:769, July 2000)
documents transfer of CCR5 from positive to negative cells by
membrane-derived microparticles.  Other surface proteins, particularly
7-transmembrane spanners like chemokine receptors, may share this property.
Transfer is relatively efficient and rapid (e.g. 1 hr.).  We have observed
similar effects in our experiments with cells transfected to express high
levels of CCR5, which then quickly begins to appear on negative cells in
the same culture.

This is both a warning to be alert for this phenomenon in your experiments
and a request for more information on other cell surface molecules which
can translocate to negative cells.

Don Mosier
__________________________________
Donald E. Mosier, Ph.D., M.D.
Department of Immunology-IMM7
The Scripps Research Institute
10550 North Torrey Pines Road
La Jolla, CA 92037, USA

ph 858 784-9121
fax 858 784-9190

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