Amplification of translational control by membrane-mediated events: a pleiotropic effect on cellular and viral gene expression.

This review deals with the events which are triggered in tissue culture cells upon exposure to medium hyperosmolarity, to virus infection and to inducers of terminal differentiation. Increased medium osmolarity mimics, in several ways, events which follow infection of cells by cytopathogenic viruses. These are: inhibition of uptake of amino acids, glucose and uridine, the release or activation of a low molecular weight substance which mediates an immediate and specific inhibition of polypeptide chain initiation, and alteration in the phosphorylation state of ribosomal proteins. All these effects appear to be related to or be a consequence of membrane alterations. Similar alterations in transport and protein synthesis are initiated in Friend erythroleukemic cells upon induction of terminal differentiation.