Conformational changes of fibronectin induced by polystyrene derivatives with a heparin-like function

✍ Scribed by Stanislawski, L. ;Serne, H. ;Stanislawski, M. ;Jozefowicz, M.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1993
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 778 KB
• Volume: 27
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-9304
• DOI: 10.1002/jbm.820270509

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

It was previously reported that polystyrene substituted with the sulfonate group, PSSO~3~, which has anticoagulant heparin‐like properties, and then coated with fibronectin supports the growth of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. On the other hand, polystyrene substituted with the amino acid sulfamide group, PSSO~2~‐Asp, which has a higher anticoagulant activity, and then coated with fibronectin no longer supported the growth of endothelial cells. We report here that, while the affinity of fibronectin to either polymer is of the same order of magnitude, fibronectin is adsorbed onto the PSSO~2~‐Asp polymer in a different conformation compared to the PSSO~3~ polymer. This was shown by a higher binding of polyclonal antifibronectin antibodies to fibronectin‐coated PSSO~2~‐Asp polymer, and by a decreased susceptibility of the coated fibronectin to proteolysis by thermolysin. This study provides evidence that a solid phase substrate with a strong heparin‐like function may influence the conformation and biological properties of fibronectin. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.