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Injection of foreign substances into single cells by cell fusion

Nature volume 249, pages 449–450 (1974)Cite this article

Abstract

A GOOD technique for injecting a given substance into an individual cell would be of value in cell biology. We here report studies on a method for injection of foreign substances into cells with erythrocyte ghosts as ‘syringes’, making use of the cell fusion activity of HVJ. Mammalian erythrocyte ghosts seem to be the most suitable disposable ‘syringes’, since they have no cytoplasm or nucleus, so contamination with cellular materials at the time of injection is minimal. Among the many mammalian erythrocytes tested, only human and dog erythrocytes showed high fusion capacity under the routine conditions used for treatment with HVJ (ref. 1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Embryology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

    MITSURU FURUSAWA & TOSHIKAZU NISHIMURA

  2. Department of Animal Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

    MASARU YAMAIZUMI & YOSHIO OKADA

Authors
  1. MITSURU FURUSAWA
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  2. TOSHIKAZU NISHIMURA
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  3. MASARU YAMAIZUMI
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  4. YOSHIO OKADA
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FURUSAWA, M., NISHIMURA, T., YAMAIZUMI, M. et al. Injection of foreign substances into single cells by cell fusion. Nature 249, 449–450 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/249449a0

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