SPECIFIC AND NONSPECIFIC INTERACTIONS IN CELL BIOLOGY

Cell function is dependent of the formation and rupture of adhesive in teractions. Two lines of research were followed to help understand the se phenomena. Physically oriented scientists developed theoretical and experimental methods for relating the interaction energy between macr oscopic surfaces to material properties of these surfaces. Biologists spent much effort in characterizing specific receptor and ligand molec ules. The aim of this paper is to discuss the relationship between bot h approaches. It is concluded that i) so-called nonspecific and specif ic interactions represent combinations of the same primary forces, ii) it is however both possible and useful to discriminate specific and n onspecific interactons, and iii) as suggested by some specific example s, understanding cell behavior requires to consider both aforementione d approaches.