Fibronectin regulates assembly of actin filaments and focal contacts in cultured cells via the heparin-binding site in repeat III13.

ABSTRACT: Fibroblasts, when plated on the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin (FN), rapidly spread and form an organized actin cytoskeleton. This process is known to involve both the central alpha5beta1 integrin-binding and the C-terminal heparin-binding regions of FN. We found that within the heparin-binding region, the information necessary for inducing organization of stress fibers and focal contacts was located in a 29-amino acid segment of FN type III module 13 (III13). We did not find a cytoskeleton-organizing role for repeat III14, which had previously been implicated in this process. Within III13, the same five basic amino acids known to be most important for heparin binding were also necessary for actin organization. A substrate of III13 alone was only weakly adhesive but strongly indu

SUBMITTER: Bloom L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC25325 | biostudies-literature | 1999 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature