Fibrillar organization of fibronectin is expressed coordinately with cell surface gangliosides in a variant murine fibroblast

NCTC 2071A cells, a line of transformed murine fibroblasts, grow in serum-free medium, are deficient in gangliosides, synthesize fibronectin, but do not retain and organize it on the cell surface. When the cells are exposed to exogenous gangliosides, fibrillar strands of fibronectin become attached to the cell surface. A morphologically distinct variant of NCTC 2071A cells was observed to both retain cell surface fibronectin and organize it into a fibrillar network when the cells were stained with anti-fibronectin antibodies and a fluorescent second antibody. A revertant cell type appeared to resemble the parental NCTC 2071A cells in terms of morphology and fibronectin organization. All three cell types were subjected to mild NaIO4 oxidation and reduction with KB3H4 of very high specific radioactivity in order to label the sialic acid residues of surface gangliosides. The variant had much more surface gangliosides than the parental, particularly more complex gangliosides corresponding to GM1 and GD1a. The surface gangliosides of the revertant were intermediate between the parental and the variant. By using sialidase, which hydrolyzes GD1a to GM1, and 125I-labeled cholera toxin, which binds specifically to GM1, the identity and levels of these gangliosides were confirmed in the three cell types. When variant cells were exposed to sialidase for 2 d, there appeared to be little change in fibronectin organization. Concomitant treatment of the cells with the B subunit of cholera toxin, which bound to all the surface GM1 including that generated by the sialidase, however, eliminated the fibrillar network of fibronectin. In addition, exposure of the variant cells to a 70,000-mol-wt fragment of fibronectin, which lacks the cell attachment domain but contains a matrix assembly domain, inhibited the formation of fibers. Finally, all three cell types were assayed for their ability to attach to and spread on fibronectin-coated surfaces; no significant differences were found. Our results further establish that the ability of a cell to organize fibronectin into an extracellular matrix is dependent on certain gangliosides, but they also indicate that cell adhesion to fibronectin is independent of these gangliosides. We suggest that matrix organization and cell attachment and spreading are based on separate mechanisms and that these functions are associated with different cell surface "receptors."     

Cell configuration and adhesive properties of metastasizing and non-metastasizing BSp73 rat adenocarcinoma cells

The pattern of cell substrate interaction, the cell surface composition and the organization of cytoskeletal elements was studied in tumour cell variants of the BSp73 rat adenocarcinoma displaying different metastatic capabilities and cell configuration. The non-metastasizing AS variant cells adhered to the substrate and spread via vinculin-containing focal contacts. These cells also synthesized, secreted and assembled fibronectin at the pericellular area. The metastasizing ASML variant cells adhered to the substrate at a slower rate via thick cytoplasmic protrusions, but were removed from the substrate by trypsin-EDTA slower than the non-metastasizing AS variant cells. The ASML cells also synthesized very low levels of both vinculin and fibronectin, displayed a diffuse pattern of actin and tubulin organization, and were unable to spread on the substrate. Spreading could not be induced in the ASML cells by seeding the cells on an extracellular matrix derived from bovine corneal endothelial cells or on concanavalin A (conA)-coated substrates, or by the addition of db-cAMP to the medium. The metastasizing cells expressed a unique and abundant cell surface glycoprotein of Mr 170 000 which was also shed into the growth medium. The relationships among the adhesive properties, the organization of cell surface components and of the cytoskeleton in the tumour cell variants, and the expression of their metastatic phenotype is discussed.     

The production and localization of laminin in cultured vascular and corneal endothelial cells

The production and localization of laminin, as a function of cell density (sparse versus confluent cultures) and growth stage (actively growing versus resting cultures), has been compared on the cell surfaces of cultured vascular and corneal endothelial cells. Comparison of the abilities of the two types of cells to secrete laminin and fibronectin into their incubation medium reveals that vascular endothelial cells can secrete 20-fold as much laminin as can corneal endothelial cells. In contrast, both cell types produce comparable amounts of fibronectin. Furthermore, if one compares the secretion of laminin and fibronectin as a function of cell growth, it appears that the laminin released into the medium by either vascular or corneal endothelial cells, is a function of cell density and cell growth, since this release is most pronounced when the cells are sparse and actively growing, and decreases by 10- and 30-fold, respectively, when either vascular or corneal endothelial cell cultures become confluent. With regard to fibronectin secretion, no such variation can be seen with vascular endothelial cell cultures, regardless of whether they are sparse and actively growing or confluent and resting. Corneal endothelial cell cultures, demonstrated a twofold increase in fibronectin production when they were confluent and resting as compared to when they were sparse and actively growing. When the distribution of laminin versus fibronectin within the apical and basal cell surfaces of cultured corneal and vascular endothelial cells is compared, one can observe that unlike fibronectin, which in sparse and subconfluent cultures can be seen to be associated with both the apical cell surface. In confluent cultures, laminin can be found associated primarily with the extracellular matrix beneath the cell monolayer, where it codistributes with type IV collagen.     

Characterization of an SV40-transformed 3T3 cell line expressing an unusual phenotype.

A transformed variant derived as a clone from normal 3T3 cells infected with simian virus 40 (SV40) has been found to possess a phenotype intermediate between that of normal cells and that characteristic of the transformed state, yet cells of the variant still test positively for the SV40-specific nuclear T-antigen. The variant exercises growth control, although not as stringently as do normal cells. Its cell size more closely resembles that of normal cells than of transformed cells. The variant also exhibits levels of spontaneous agglutination that are in line with those characteristic of the normal cells from which it was derived, and far higher than corresponding values for cells exhibiting the fully transformed phenotype. Plasma membranes of variant cells more closely resemble those of transformed cells than of normal cells as estimated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of the transformed variant is its complete immunity to agglutination by concanavalin A (Con A), even at concentrations of the lectin as high as 500 mug/ml. Moreover, trypsinization does not render variant cells as agglutinable in the presence of Con A as are untreated fully transformed cells. By contrast the variant displays a low tolerance of Con A toxicity, as monitored by ability to grow after treatment with the lectin, and on this count resembles transformed cells. Moreover a survey of several normal cell lines has revealed that even they do not consistently show resistance to Con A toxicity. These observations indicate that Con A-mediated agglutination and inability to grow after treatment with Con A are quite independent and do not bear a cause and effect relationship.     

A variant vascular endothelial cell line with altered growth characteristics.

A variant endothelial cell type was found to arise spontaneously from cultures of bovine aortal endothelial cells. This variant showed no contact inhibition and overgrew confluent cultures of wild-type endothelial cells. Unlike other reported variants of this cell type produced by chemical mutagenesis or by withdrawal of polypeptide growth factor, this variant retained the capacity to synthesis factor VIII antigen, but showed no alteration from wild-type in capacity to adsorb platelets. The variant also had an increased capacity to bind FITC-conjugated con A to its surface.     

Fibronectin synthesis and surface expression is correlated with cell morphology and adhesiveness in a cold-sensitive, G1-defective mutant of CHO cells

A cold-sensitive, G1-defective variant of CHO cells, clone cs4-D3, exhibits a reversible, cell-cycle-dependent change in morphology at the non-permissive temperature (33 °C). We have investigated the role of fibronectin in mediating shape change in these cells, and found them to be defective in synthesis and expression of this molecule and in cell surface/fibronectin interactions at 33 °C. Our results suggest that clone cs4-D3 will provide a valuable in vitro model for investigating the role of cell adhesion in growth control.     

Facilitated diffusion of VEGF165 through descemet's membrane with sucrose octasulfate

Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) is a promoter of neovascularization and thus a popular therapeutic target for diseases involving excessive growth of blood vessels. In this study, we explored the potential of the disaccharide sucrose octasulfate (SOS) to alter VEGF165 diffusion through Descemet's membrane. Descemet's membranes were isolated from bovine eyes and used as a barrier between two chambers of a diffusion apparatus to measure VEGF transport. Diffusion studies revealed a dramatic increase in VEGF165 transport in the presence of SOS, with little diffusion of VEGF165 across the membrane over a 10-h time course in the absence of SOS. Diffusion studies with VEGF121, a non-heparin binding variant of VEGF, showed robust diffusion with or without SOS. To determine a possible mechanism, we measured the ability of SOS to inhibit VEGF interactions with extracellular matrix (ECM), using cell-free and cell surface binding assays. Binding studies showed SOS had no effect on VEGF165 binding to either heparin-coated plates or endothelial cell surfaces at less than mg/ml concentrations. In contrast, we show that SOS inhibited VEGF165 binding to fibronectin in a dose dependent manner and dramatically accelerated the rate of release of VEGF165 from fibronectin. SOS also inhibited the binding of VEGF165 to fibronectin-rich ECM deposited by vascular smooth muscle cells. These results suggest that fibronectin-rich extracellular matrices serve as barriers to VEGF165 diffusion by providing a network of binding sites that can trap and sequester the protein. Since the content of Descemet's membrane is typical of many basement membranes it is possible that they serve throughout the body as formidable barriers to VEGF165 diffusion and tightly regulate its bioavailability and distribution within tissues.     

Retinal capillary endothelial cells prefer different substrates for growth and migration

Recent studies have shown that the extracellular matrix modifies the behaviour of endothelial cells. We have studied the effects of extracellular matrix components on retinal capillary endothelial cell migration and proliferation. Bovine retinal capillary endothelial cells were selectively cultured from collagenase-digested microvessel fragments. In a filter system for the assessment of migration, endothelial cells responded to substrate-bound fibronectin but not to soluble fibronectin. Cell migration on collagen- or gelatin-coated filters was minimal, and these cells failed to adopt a spread morphology, remaining instead as round cells. Cell replication was quantified using a protein dye binding assay for adherent cells in 96 well plates. Serum was essential for growth irrespective of the substrate. Cells harvested from microvessel cultures proliferated more rapidly on collagen- and gelatin-coated plastic than on fibronectin and were unaffected by additions to the medium such as endothelial cell conditioned medium, whereas cells proliferating directly from the microvessels grew at a faster rate on fibronectin and also responded to conditioned medium supplement. When cultured on collagen gels, initial microvessel cells and harvested cells required surface fibronectin in order to adopt a cobblestone morphology. These results show that fibronectin is a requirement for bovine retinal capillary endothelial cell migration, but proliferation of these cells can be supported, with slight differences, by both fibronectin and collagen provided serum growth factors are present. These findings are relevant to the early phase of angiogenesis in which migration and proliferation of endothelial cells occurs.     

Reverse transformation of Chinese hamster ovary cells by methyl xanthines : Structure-function relationships

Using a number of drugs that increase cellular cAMP levels, alterations in the amount of cell surface fibronectin and other transformation parameters were studied in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The drugs include db-cAMP, different methylxanthines (theophylline, aminophylline, methyl isobutyl xanthine (MIX), caffeine and theobromine), papaverine and cholera toxin. Methylxanthines that have a methyl group at the seventh position lack reverse transforming potential; those that lack a methyl group at the seventh position induced reverse transformation in CHO cells, causing an increase in surface fibronectin, cell substratum adhesive strength and anchorage dependence for growth. Further, as methyl xanthines are substituted in other positions different from the seventh position, the more efficient they become in restoring normal phenotypic properties; the later agents also induced low saturation density via a cytostatic state causing accumulation of cells in the S and G2 phases of the cycle in contrast to the G1 arrest of normal cells at low saturation density. db-cAMP and cholera toxin induced cell elongation but like caffeine and theobromine, did not induce surface fibronectin. The non-methylxanthine phosphodiesterase inhibitor papaverine induced neither cell elongation nor surface fibronectin but produced a cytostatic effect similar to aminophylline and MIX. These studies suggest that the reverse transformation properties fall into two groups: (a) Differentiation-related properties including cell morphology, parallel alignment and surface matrix fibronectin, etc.; (b) cell cycle-related properties-low saturation density, cell arrest at G1 phase and anchorage-dependent growth. Phosphodiesterase inhibitors reversibly eliminate indefinite division potential of CHO cells by inducing a cytostatic situation and not by inducing a G1-specific arrest.     

Mechanochemical switching between growth and differentiation during fibroblast growth factor-stimulated angiogenesis in vitro: role of extracellular matrix

The angiogenic factor, basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF), either stimulates endothelial cell growth or promotes capillary differentiation depending upon the microenvironment in which it acts. Analysis of various in vitro models of spontaneous angiogenesis, in combination with time-lapse cinematography, demonstrated that capillary tube formation was greatly facilitated by promoting multicellular retraction and cell elevation above the surface of the rigid culture dish or by culturing endothelial cells on malleable extracellular matrix (ECM) substrata. These observations suggested to us that mechanical (i.e., tension-dependent) interactions between endothelial cells and ECM may serve to regulate capillary development. To test this hypothesis, FGF-stimulated endothelial cells were grown in chemically defined medium on bacteriological (nonadhesive) dishes that were precoated with different densities of fibronectin. Extensive cell spreading and growth were promoted by fibronectin coating densities that were highly adhesive (greater than 500 ng/cm2), whereas cell rounding, detachment, and loss of viability were observed on dishes coated with low fibronectin concentrations (less than 100 ng/cm2). Intermediate fibronectin coating densities (100-500 ng/cm2) promoted cell extension, but they could not completely resist cell tractional forces. Partial retraction of multicellular aggregates resulted in cell shortening, cessation of growth, and formation of branching tubular networks within 24-48 h. Multicellular retraction and subsequent tube formation also could be elicited on highly adhesive dishes by overcoming the mechanical resistance of the substratum using higher cell plating numbers. Dishes coated with varying concentrations of type IV collagen or gelatin produced similar results. These results suggest that ECM components may act locally to regulate the growth and pattern-regulating actions of soluble FGF based upon their ability to resist cell-generated mechanical loads. Thus, we propose that FGF-stimulated endothelial cells may be "switched" between growth, differentiation, and involution modes during angiogenesis by altering the adhesivity or mechanical integrity of their ECM.     

Factor VIII-related antigen : A pericellular matrix component of cultured human endothelial cells

We studied the extracellular localization of factor VIII-related antigen (VIIIR: Ag) in cultures of human endothelial cells. The cells deposited both VIIIR: Ag and fibronectin already during their initial adhesion phase and in immunofluorescence microscopy of spread cells extracellular VIIIR: Ag was localized to fibrils coaligning with pericellular fibronectin. When human fibroblasts, which do not synthesize VIIIR: Ag, were cultured in endothelial cell post-culture medium, a fibrillar matrix localization of VIIIR: Ag was seen, comparable to that of endothelial cell cultures. A fibrillar VIIIR: Ag-specific staining was also seen in cell-free pericellular matrices of endothelial cells, produced by deoxycholate treatment. In immunoelectron microscopy, VIIIR: Ag was seen in fibrillar extracellular material between and underneath the cells and in cell-free matrices of endothelial cells as well.In immunofluorescence microscopy of cell-free matrices, VIIIR: Ag codistributed with both fibronectin and type III procollagen. Digestion of the matrices with purified bacterial collagenase abolished the type III procollagen-specific fluorescence, whereas the fibrillar VIIIR: Ag-specific staining, codistributing with fibronectin, remained unaffected. In electrophoresis of isolated, metabolically labelled endothelial cell matrices, major polypeptides with M_r 220–240; 180; 160; 80 and 45 kD and some minor polypeptides were resolved. In addition, immunoblotting revealed fibronectin, VIIIR: Ag and type III procollagen as components of cell-free matrices of endothelial cells. Direct overlay of iodinated cellular fibronectin on electrophoretically separated polypeptides of cultured endothelial cells, transferred to nitrocellulose, suggested that fibronectin binds directly to VIIIR: Ag. Our results indicate that VIIIR: Ag produced by human endothelial cells is a component of the pericellular matrix and is not bound to collagen but may directly associate with fibronectin.     

Modulation of endothelial fibronectin synthesis by polymorphonuclear granulocytes

The attachment of polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMNs) to vascular endothelial cells occurs continually in normal tissues; however, knowledge of the factors that control leukocyte margination is incomplete. In the present study, we used cell cultures of pulmonary artery endothelium to study their interaction with PMNs. Endothelial cells were seeded in Costar 24-well plates following which PMNs were inoculated onto the endothelial monolayers and incubated for 2 to 20 hours. During this period, fibronectin synthesis by endothelial cells was estimated by ELISA. In wells to which PMNs had been added, supernatant fibronectin concentration was increased at all time points during the 20 hour incubation. At 20 hours, supernatants from wells to which PMNs had been added contained approximately 2 1/2 times the control level of fibronectin. Since the amount of fibronectin, as determined by ELISA, adsorbed onto the added PMNs was negligible, these data suggest that PMNs can modulate the synthesis of fibronectin by pulmonary artery cells. Pulse labeling experiments and measurements of endothelial intracellular fibronectin also suggest this possibility. The endothelial response does not appear to be owing to nonspecific physical interaction since similarly sized polystyrene beads did not cause any change in supernatant fibronectin levels while glutaraldehyde-fixed PMNs caused only a 20-25% increase in fibronectin levels.     

The influence of exogenous fibronectin on blood granulocyte adherence to vascular endothelium in vitro

Fibronectin is a major cell surface and extracellular matrix glycoprotein. It binds to a variety of substrata and supports the attachment and spreading of a number of cell types. We have found that purified human plasma fibronectin can also support blood granulocyte adhesion to cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells. This activity is protected by treatment of the fibronectin with a sulphhydryl-containing agent. The effect of granulocyte attachment was observed at fibronectin concentration of 100 ng/ml with maximum effect at a concentration of 10 μg/ml. The attached granulocytes retained a rounded appearance, compared with the flattening that occurs on attachment to plastic. Granulocytes attached poorly to cultured human vascular smooth muscle cells and no enhancement occurred when fibronectin was added. Immunofluorescence microscopy using monospecific rabbit anti-human fibronectin demonstrated that the sulphhydryl-treated fibronectin accumulated on the endothelial cell surface, forming aggregates on the apical surface by 3 h of continued incubation. Washed, cultured endothelial cells not exposed to fibronectin or exposed to untreated purified plasma fibronectin did not demonstrate an aggregation of cell-surface fibronectin.     

In vitro studies on the expansion of endothelial cell monolayers on components of the basement membrane

The purpose of the present study was to observe the expansion of a monolayer of endothelial cells over specific components of the basement membrane. This was performed in vitro in a monolayer expansion assay over 5 days. The control surface was uncoated glass in the form of coverslips. Test substances were coated at a concentration of 10 μg/ml. The highest expansion was obtained with a high molecular weight fragment mixture of collagen type IV (IV-F, consisting of 75, 120 and 140 KD fragments), followed by fibronectin. Collagens type I, III and IV tetramer gave similar results, less than fibronectin or collagen type IV-F, although all of the above basement membrane coatings promoted expansion significantly above that of the control (P<0.01). The poorest expansion was obtained with laminin, which was significantly less than the control. The pentapeptide GRGDS, related to the fibronectin cell binding region, gave expansion significantly below that of the intact fibronectin molecule, as did the intact collagen type IV molecule compared with type IV-F (P<0.025). This indicates that sequences of the fibronectin molecule other than the cell binding sequence may be involved in promoting endothelial cell expansion. In addition, the integrity of the collagen type IV molecule does not appear necessary for this effect. On the contrary, the higher movement on IV-F may represent an inherent repair mechanism in damaged endothelium. Autoradiographic studies show that endothelial cell proliferation at the expanding front is involved in the migration assay.     

Conditioned medium from endothelial cell cultures can restore the normal phenotypic expression of vascular endothelium maintained in vitro in the absence of fibroblast growth factor

Bovine vascular endothelial cells continuously maintained and grown in the presence of FGF adopt at confluence the configuration of a cell monolayer composed of contact-inhibited cells which do not overgrow each other and which are highly flattened and closely apposed. Such cultures exhibit structural and morphological characteristics similar to those observed with their in vivo counterparts. These include the production of an extracellular matrix consisting mostly of basement membrane collagen and fibronectin localized exclusively beneath the cell monolayer, but not on top of it, as well as a nonthrombogenic, blood-compatible apical cell surface. Removal of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) from adult bovine aortic endothelial cell (ABAE) cultures results within three passages in the loss by the cells of their characteristic contact-inhibited morphology. The cells, which during their logarithmic growth phase divide with a greatly increased doubling time, become larger and more elongated. Confluent cultures, instead of adopting the morphology of a contact inhibited cell monolayer, are now composed of overgrowing cells. Parallel with the morphological alterations taking place within the culture, the cells also lose the polarity of cell surfaces characteristics of the vascular endothelium. Formation of an extracellular matrix composed primarily of fibronectin and collagen types I, III, and IV is observed on both the apical and basal cell surfaces. Platelets which previously did not bind to the apical cell surface now become capable of binding to it. CSP-60, a major cell surface protein present in highly confluent and contact-inhibited vascular endothelial cell cultures, can no longer be detected. Exposure of confluent endothelial cell cultures, maintained in the absence of FGF to medium conditioned by cells which had been grown in the presence of FGF, but maintained in its absence upon reaching confluence led, within four to eight days, to a reversion of the altered phenotype. This medium has little or no mitogenic activity and retains a full activity in the absence of serum or after depletion of its fibronectin content by affinity chromatography on a gelatin-Sepharose column. Cultures which were previously composed of cells growing in multiple layers reorganized into a single cell monolayer composed of closely apposed and highly flattened cells. The cultures thereby regained the contact-inhibited morphology characteristic of the vascular endothelium. Concomitant with this cellular reorganization, the extracellular matrix disappeared from the apical cell surface, the cells regained their nonthrombogenic properties, and CSP-60 reappeared as one of the major cell surface proteins. These results suggest that vascular endothelial cells secrete a soluble factor(s) which can restore the normal morphology and function lost following removal of FGF from the medium. Such a factor(s) may be involved in maintaining the differentiated state of the vascular endothelium.     

Fibronectin-binding protein A of Staphylococcus aureus has multiple, substituting, binding regions that mediate adherence to fibronectin and invasion of endothelial cells

Invasive Staphylococcus aureus infection frequently involves bacterial seeding from the bloodstream to other body tissues, a process necessarily involving interactions between circulating bacteria and vascular endothelial cells. Staphylococcus aureus fibronectin‐binding protein is central to the invasion of endothelium, fibronectin forming a bridge between bacterial fibronectin‐binding proteins and host cell receptors. To dissect further the mechanisms of invasion of endothelial cells by S. aureus, a series of truncated FnBPA proteins that lacked one or more of the A, B, C or D regions were expressed on the surface of S. aureus and tested in fibronectin adhesion, endothelial cell adhesion and invasion assays. We found that this protein has multiple, substituting, fibronectin‐binding regions, each capable of conferring both adherence to fibronectin and endothelial cells, and endothelial cell invasion. By expressing S. aureus FnBPA on the surface of the non‐invasive Gram‐positive organism Lactococcus lactis, we have found that no other bacterial factor is required for invasion. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that, as with other cell types, invasion of endothelial cells is mediated by integrin α₅β₁. These findings may be of relevance to the development of preventive measures against systemic infection, and bacterial spread in the bacteraemic patient.     

Characteristics of a BHK cell variant defective in the cell-substratum contact process

In this paper we document the phenotypic characteristics of a novel BHK cell adhesion variant designated FN-2. Unlike parental cells, FN-2 cells did not attach to fibronectin (pFN)-coated dishes, even after 4-hr incubations on dishes treated with 100 micrograms/ml of pFN. Mixing experiments with the variant and parental cells revealed that the parental cells attached normally in the presence of a ninefold excess of variant cells and the variant cells failed to attach in the presence of a ninefold excess of parental cells. Therefore, the defect in FN-2 cells could not be explained by secretion of a factor inhibiting attachment or lack of secretion of a factor required for attachment. Also, the inability of FN-2 cells to attach to pFN-coated dishes could not be explained by an absence of cell pFN receptors since the variant cells bound normal numbers of small (ca. 0.8 micron) pFN-coated latex beads, although they phagocytosed the beads poorly compared to parental cells. Also, the variant cells were not able to bind large (5.7 or 16.8 microns) pFN-coated beads. When tested on dishes coated with ligands that, unlike fibronectin, have a high affinity for cell surface receptors, e.g., lectins and anti-BHK antibodies, FN-2 cells were observed to attach at a rate similar to that of parental cells but spread much more slowly. The phenotypic characteristics of FN-2 cells suggest that they are deficient in what previously has been called the "cell contact" process in cell adhesion. It is proposed that the cell contact process is the initial formation by an individual cell of a sufficient number of cell-substratum bonds to resist the shear forces operationally used to define "attachment," and that more cell-substratum bonds are necessary for cell attachment to large substrata (dishes or large beads) than for attachment to small substrata (small beads). The molecular defect in FN-2 cells was studied by electroblotting analysis. A high molecular weight (ca. 370 kd) glycoprotein detected by blotting with anti-BHK antibodies and ConA that was present in parental cell membranes was reduced or absent in the variant cells.     

Properties of epithelial cells cultured from human carcinomas and nonmalignant tissues

Human epithelial cell cultures were examined for expression of plasminogen activator and fibronectin matrix. All of the cells examined showed ultrastructural evidence suggesting their epithelial origin, including microvilli and specialized junctions. The nonmalignant cells were also negative for endothelial cell markers (ie, they lacked factor VIII antigen, a nonthrombogenic surface and Weibel-Palade bodies). The nonmalignant lines all produced large amounts of plasminogen activator, whereas the tumor-derived lines showed a gradation of activities, ranging from lines having as much activity as the nonmalignant lines to lines having little or no activity above background. For both normal and malignant cells, addition of dexamethesone only slightly decreased the levels of plasminogen activator. By immunofluorescence microscopy, normal bladder and fetal intestine epithelial cells showed fibronectin in a globular and fibrillar matrix. In contrast, normal mammary epithelial cells had a much diminished amount of fibronectin with a punctate distribution.     

Integrin-mediated Signaling Events in Human Endothelial Cells

Vascular endothelial cells are important in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological processes. The growth and functions of vascular endothelial cells are regulated both by soluble mitogenic and differentiation factors and by interactions with the extracellular matrix; however, relatively little is known about the role of the matrix. In the present study, we investigate whether integrin-mediated anchorage to a substratum coated with the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin regulates growth factor signaling events in human endothelial cells. We show that cell adhesion to fibronectin and growth factor stimulation trigger distinct initial tyrosine phosphorylation events in endothelial cells. Thus, integrin-dependent adhesion of endothelial cells leads to tyrosine phosphorylation of both focal adhesion kinase and paxillin, but not of several growth factor receptors. Conversely, EGF stimulation causes receptor autophosphorylation, with no effect on focal adhesion kinase or paxillin tyrosine phosphorylation. Adhesion to fibronectin, in the absence of growth factors, leads to activation of MAPK. In addition, adhesion to fibronectin also potentiates growth factor signaling to MAPK. Thus, polypeptide growth factor activation of MAPK in anchored cells is far more effective than in cells maintained in suspension. Other agonists known to activate MAPK were also examined for their ability to activate MAPK in an anchorage-dependent manner. The neuropeptide bombesin, the bioactive lipid lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), and the cytokine tumor necrosis factor α, which signal through diverse mechanisms, were all able to activate MAPK to a much greater degree in fibronectin-adherent cells than in suspended cells. In addition, tumor necrosis factor α activation of c-Jun kinase (JNK) was also much more robust in anchored cells. Together, these data suggest a cooperation between integrins and soluble mitogens in efficient propagation of signals to downstream kinases. This cooperation may contribute to anchorage dependence of mitogenic cell cycle progression.