Abstract
SMALL lymphocytes do not usually synthesize DNA or divide when incubated in vitro, but they can be induced to do so by adding phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) or a number of other stimulants to the culture medium1. Several lines of evidence suggest that PHA has a rapid effect on the cell membrane, possibly by binding to mucoprptein groups on it2–5. Hirschhorn has suggested that this may lead to increased endocytosis6, which may trigger the sequence of changes leading to DNA synthesis and cell division7; the order and interdependence of the early events in this sequence, however, are not well established. I report here that PHA causes a rapid increase in the rate of incorporation of precursors into the lipid fraction of lymphocytes, and that this increase is independent of the effects of PHA on RNA and protein synthesis.
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KAY, J. Phytohaemagglutinin: an Early Effect on Lymphocyte Lipid Metabolism. Nature 219, 172–173 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/219172a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/219172a0
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