Peptide analog of fibronectin that inhibits cell migration and ERK 1/2 activity

Two analogs of the peptide mimicking the 1977–1991 C- terminal part of fibronectin have been synthesized and tested. AWLI simulated human fibronectin fragment 1977–1991, whereas AWLII hybridized to both RGD and 1977–1991 fragments. AWLI and AWLII peptides inhibited the migration of the ovarian carcinoma cell line OVP10 regardless of the presence RGD. AWLI peptide inhibited spontaneous and fibronectin-activated cell migration and ERK1/2 activity. Neither AWLI nor fibronectin induced changes in FAK proteins, as could be judged from Western blots. In conclusion, it seems that the C-terminal fragment of fibronectin inhibits ERK1/2-dependent (random) migration of ovarian carcinoma cells.