title: Binding of extracellular maspin to beta1 integrins inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell migration.
abstract: Maspin is a serpin that has multiple effects on cell behavior, including inhibition of migration. How maspin mediates these diverse effects remains unclear, as it is devoid of protease inhibitory activity. We have previously shown that maspin rapidly inhibits the migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), suggesting the involvement of direct interactions with cell surface proteins. Here, using immunofluorescence microscopy, we demonstrate that maspin binds specifically to the surface of VSMC in the dedifferentiated, but not the differentiated, phenotype. Ligand blotting of VSMC lysates revealed the presence of several maspin-binding proteins, with a protein of 150 kDa differentially expressed between the two VSMC phenotypes. Western blotting suggested that this protein was the beta1 integrin subunit, and subsequently both alpha3beta1 and alpha5beta1, but not alphavbeta3, were shown to associate with maspin by coimmunoprecipitation. Specific binding of these integrins was also observed using maspin-affinity chromatography, using HT1080 cell lysates. Direct binding of maspin to alpha5beta1 was confirmed using a recombinant alpha5beta1-Fc fusion protein. Using conformation-dependent anti-beta1 antibodies, maspin binding to VSMC was found to lead to a decrease in the activation status of the integrin. The functional involvement of alpha5beta1 in mediating the effect of maspin was established by the inhibition of migration of CHO cells overexpressing human alpha5 integrin, but not those lacking alpha5 expression. Our observations suggest that maspin engages in specific interactions with a limited number of integrins on VSMC, leading to their inactivation, and that these interactions are responsible for the effects of maspin in the pericellular environment.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Biomedical Research Centre, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rosemary
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bass
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wagstaff
authors.forename: Lorna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ravenhill
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ellis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016466:CHO Cells; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D054337:Cell Dedifferentiation; D002465:Cell Movement; D002846:Chromatography, Affinity; D006224:Cricetinae; D003412:Cricetulus; D005110:Extracellular Space / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D039422:Integrin alpha3 / Q000378:metabolism; D039201:Integrin alpha3beta1 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D039482:Integrin alpha5 / Q000378:metabolism; D039081:Integrin alpha5beta1 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D019012:Integrin beta1 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000378:metabolism; D015843:Serpins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D039422:Integrin alpha3; D039201:Integrin alpha3beta1; D039482:Integrin alpha5; D039081:Integrin alpha5beta1; D019012:Integrin beta1; D021122:Protein Subunits; C085344:SERPIN-B5; D015843:Serpins