1986 Articles

Extracellular matrix-modulated expression of human cell surface glycoproteins A42 and J143. Intrinsic and extrinsic signals determine antigenic phenotype.

Rettig, W. J.; Vundavalli, Murty V.; Mattes, M. J.; Chaganti, R. S.; Old, L. J.

Extracellular matrix (ECM)' plays an important regulatory role in cellular
growth, migration, and differentiation (1-4). Pathologic processes such as tumor
cell invasion and metastasis are also determined by cellular interactions with
ECM (5, 6). Biochemical studies have identified collagens, fibronectin, laminin,
proteoglycans, and several other proteins as major ECM components (1-3), and
have shown that ECM composition varies between different normal and tumor
tissues. The complexity and heterogeneity of ECM composition have hampered
the molecular analysis of ECM-cell interactions . However, a range of phenotypic
changes has been described for cultured cells after transfer from plastic surfaces
to substrates coated with native ECM (7, 8) or with purified ECM components;
ECM-induced phenotypic changes include enhanced substrate adhesiveness, cell
spreading and migration, changes in cell morphology and proliferative activity,
and expression of differentiated cellular functions (I-4). Some of these effects,
e.g., increased substrate adhesion, may result directly from the binding of
specialized cell surface structures to ECM molecules. Others are likely mediated
by an active cellular response triggered by the interaction of ECM with cell
surface receptors. Thus, ECM-derived signals (9) may activate a cascade of
molecular changes within the cell and on the cell surface that account for the
pleiotropic effects observed with ECM.