ISSN:
0021-9541
Keywords:
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
The glycoprotein laminin appears to function in the attachment of various epithelial cells to basement membranes. We examined whether its putative cell-adhesive activity could be analyzed in a simple, one-component model system - the agglutination of erythrocytes. Laminin is a potent agglutinin of aldehyde-fixed sheep and human erythrocytes, with half-maximal agglutination of 0.8 μg/ml in a standard hemagglutination assay. Inhibitors of this hemagglutinating activity include gangliosides and certain charged phospholipids. The spectrum of molecules is similar but not identical to inhibitors of the hemagglutinating activity of the adhesive glycoprotein fibronectin. Laminin is much less biologically active in three other assays for fibronectin biological activity involving cell spreading on tissue culture substrates, attachment of fibroblastic cells to type I collagen, and restoration of normal morphology to transformed fibroblasts. The adhesive glycoproteins laminin and fibronectin therefore differ markedly in biological activities in several specific adhesion assays; however, they resemble one another in binding to heparin, collagen, and cell surfaces and in their agglutinin activity.
Additional Material:
5 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jcp.1041140302
