title: Chemotaxis of fibroblasts toward nonapeptide of elastin.
abstract: Bovine ligamentum fibroblasts, which produce elastin, migrate towards a positive chemical gradient of human platelet-derived growth factor and of the tropoelastin repeat hexapeptide Val-Gly-Val-Ala-Pro-Gly, as previously shown. They are also responsive to two permutations of a nonapeptide that repeats in tropoelastin, i.e., Ala-Gly-Val-Pro-Gly-Phe-Gly-Val-Gly and Gly-Phe-Gly-Val-Gly-Ala-Gly-Val-Pro. Concentration curves and checkerboard assays prove that the nonapeptides are chemoattractants. The component pentapeptide, Gly-Phe-Gly-Val-Gly, is chemotactic, while the component tetrapeptide Ala-Gly-Val-Pro is not. The hexapeptide competitively suppresses the nonapeptide chemotaxis suggesting the involvement of a common cell receptor. The results support the concept that elastin has multiple cell recognition sites as measured by the chemotactic response and that among the hydrophobic repeating sequences of elastin chemotacticity is selectively and multiply localized.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, University of Alabama at Birmingham 35294.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: V J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: K U
authors.initials: KU
authors.lastname: Prasad
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Urry
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002633:Chemotaxis; D004549:Elastin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D014333:Tropoelastin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; D014333:Tropoelastin; D004549:Elastin