MOLECULAR REORIENTATION AS UNIFYING PRINCIPLE UNDERLYING CELLULAR SELECTIVITY

Abstract

A general hypothesis of the mechanism of selectivity of cellular responses is proposed to embrace a wide spectrum of specific interactions, including immunology, virus infection, fertilization, ingestion, hormone action, cell aggregation, and impulse transmission. It is based on the following assumptions: (1) The cell surface contains a network of long protein molecules with specific end groups. (2) This network acts as "barrier" to transport and transmission. (3) Complementary groups on an.extraneous carrier combine specifically with their counterparts in the cell surface and thereby turn them from tangetial into radial positions. (4) This reorientation opens wide "breaches" through the former barrier. (5) These breaches then act secondarily as pores or portals for the more massive, but unspecific, passage of materials and currents.