Surface charge characteristics of cells from malignant cell lines and normal cell lines of the human hematopoietic system.

Cells from malignant and normal lines of human hematopoietic origin were studied for their surface charge characteristics with the use of the following criteria: 1) the electron microscopic appearance of cell membranes after labeling with cationized ferritin (CF) either before or after glutaraldehyde fixation, 2) electrophoretic mobility, 3) total sialic acid content, and 4) agglutinability with poly-L-lysine (PLL). CF induced a time-dependent redistribution of surface receptors in unfixed malignant cells but not in unfixed normal cells. After 10 seconds of labeling with CF, both normal and malignant unfixed cells showed a uniform and even labeling pattern. After 5 minutes of labeling, malignant cells exhibited a highly pronounced pattern of clusters and patches, as distinct from a random and even pattern exhibited by normal cells. Both normal and malignant cells after fixation exhibited an equivalent random and even labeling pattern with CF, independent of the duration of labeling. The malignant cells studied possessed less sialic acid, had a lower electric mobility, and were agglutinated more readily with PLL than were the normal cells.