title: A role of dystroglycan in schwannoma cell adhesion to laminin.
abstract: Dystroglycan is encoded by a single gene and cleaved into two proteins alpha- and beta-dystroglycan by posttranslational processing. Recently, alpha-dystroglycan was demonstrated to be an extracellular laminin-binding protein anchored to the cell membrane by a transmembrane protein beta-dystroglycan in striated muscle and Schwann cells. However, the biological functions of the dystroglycan-laminin interaction remain obscure, and in particular, it is still unclear if dystroglycan plays a role in cell adhesion. In the present study, we characterized the role of dystroglycan in the adhesion of schwannoma cells to laminin-1. Immunochemical analysis demonstrated that the dystroglycan complex, comprised of alpha- and beta-dystroglycan, was a major laminin-binding protein complex in the surface membrane of rat schwannoma cell line RT4. It also demonstrated the presence of alpha-dystroglycan, but not beta-dystroglycan, in the culture medium, suggesting secretion of alpha-dystroglycan by RT4 cells. RT4 cells cultured on dishes coated with laminin-1 became spindle in shape and adhered to the bottom surface tightly. Monoclonal antibody IIH6 against alpha-dystroglycan was shown previously to inhibit the binding of laminin-1 to alpha-dystroglycan. In the presence of IIH6, but not several other control antibodies in the culture medium, RT4 cells remained round in shape and did not adhere to the bottom surface. The adhesion of RT4 cells to dishes coated with fibronectin was not affected by IIH6. The known inhibitors of the interaction of alpha-dystroglycan with laminin-1, including EDTA, sulfatide, fucoidan, dextran sulfate, heparin, and sialic acid, also perturbed the adhesion of RT4 cells to laminin-1, whereas the reagents which do not inhibit the interaction, including dextran, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, and GlcNAc, did not. Altogether, these results support a role for dystroglycan as a major cell adhesion molecule in the surface membrane of RT4 cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo 173, Japan. k-matsu@med.teikyo-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumura
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chiba
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukuta-Ohi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kobata
authors.forename: L V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kanazawa
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimizu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000378:metabolism; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D048429:Cell Size / Q000187:drug effects; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D049030:Dystroglycans; D016189:Dystrophin / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007797:Laminin / Q000378:metabolism*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017978:Receptors, Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D017474:Receptors, Laminin / Q000378:metabolism*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D049411:Utrophin
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D016189:Dystrophin; D007797:Laminin; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D017978:Receptors, Growth Factor; D017474:Receptors, Laminin; D049411:Utrophin; D049030:Dystroglycans; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid