Changes in the structural organization of the surface membrane in malignant cell transformation.

Malignant transformation of normal cells resulting in agglutinability by the carbohydrate-binding protein Concanavalin A can be explained by three types of changes in the structural organization of sites on the surface membrane. There can be an exposure of cryptic sites, a concentration of exposed sites by a decrease in cell size, and a rearrangement of exposed sites without a decrease in cell size resulting in a clustering of sites.