[Structural dynamic properties of the cell membranes of Ehrlich ascites tumor associated with a polyamine deficiency caused by DL-difluoromethylornithine].

The blocking of polyamine synthesis in cancer cell by a specific inhibitor (DFMO) results in an increase in membrane viscosity and in significant changes in cell deformability as determined by cell penetration through a nuclear filter with given porosity. Almost two-fold reduction of the penetration rate through the filter pores was registered for the DFMO-treated cells in spite of the fact that the cell size decreases after such a treatment. The number of cells penetrating through the filter after DFMO treatment is diminished due to an increasing resistance to penetration. The addition of putrescine to the incubation medium at physiological concentration restores all these parameters to the initial values. The possible association of these changes with differential sensitivity of cancer cells towards the inhibitor action depending on the stage of cell cycles is discussed.