A three-dimensional reconstruction of the polygonal pattern on placental coated-vesicle membranes.

There is a surface structure on the coated vesicles of human placenta. Some features of this structure have been examined. Measurements of the polygonal network seen in surface views have been made and compared with measurements of structures projecting from vesicle walls in median sections. A 3-dimensional reconstruction of the vesicle shows the pattern to be one of raised ridges. Use of a goniometer to tilt the specimens has confirmed the assumption that both types of image obtained as from one structure. Although it is usually the case that vesicles are approximately spherical, some are definitely irregularly shaped. For this reason it is suggested that the walls of the polygons need not always be packed into a structure with a regular and precisely maintained pattern. Consideration of the surface structure in the light of current understanding of the cell membrane as a dynamic system leads to a possible explanation of the process of vesicle formation in this context and of the selective nature of uptake by micropinocytosis.