Comparison of membrane fluidity and transferrin receptor expression as proliferation markers in lymphoproliferative disorders and in mitogen induced lymphoblasts

The correlation of two proliferation related events, membrane fluidization and transferrin receptor expression was studied in different lymphoid cells. With increasing grade of malignancy the membrane microviscosity decreased. Moreover, resting lymphocytes differed significantly from chronic lymphocytic leukaemia cells in this parameter. [ 125I]Fe 2-transferrin binding increased with increasing proliferation capacity of cells. The membrane microviscosity of mitogen induced blasts was very similar to that of acute lymphoblastic cells, whereas the [ 125I]Fe 2-transferrin binding capacity exceeded roughly 5 times that of the blastic leukaemia cells. This dissociation indicates that these two proliferation markers do not necessarily parallel each other.