Vesicles with Transport Capability Isolated from Cultured Fibroblasts

Abstract

Plasmalemmas from cultured human skin fibroblasts, isolated by a simple and reproducible method, can be converted to vesicles which are capable of active transport of amino acid when glutathione is included within the vesicles. In the isolation, the plasmalemmas are stabilized with a Ricinus lectin, with preservation of the classic plasmalemma enzymes. The procedure was applied successfully to a number of normal and abnormal human skin fibroblasts including those of myotonia dystrophica and progeria victims, and to the lung fiboblast WI-38.