PR-39 coordinates changes in vascular smooth muscle cell adhesive strength and locomotion by modulating cell surface heparan sulfate-matrix interactions.

PR-39 is proline-rich peptide produced at sites of tissue injury. While the functional properties of this peptide have not been fully defined, PR-39 may be an important regulator of processes related to cell-matrix adhesion since it reportedly upregulates syndecan-4, which is a critical determinant of focal adhesion formation. The ability of PR-39 to modulate the adhesion and chemokinetic migration behavior of arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in a fashion coordinated with syndecan-4 expression was investigated. Treatment of SMCs with PR-39 did not alter syndecan-1 mRNA, but did induce a two-fold increase in syndecan-4 mRNA (P < 0.0001) and significantly enhanced cell surface expression of both syndecan-4 (P < 0.01) and heparan sulfate (HS) (P < 0.05). These observations were consistent with an observed increase in cell-matrix adhesive strength (P < 0.05) and a reduction in cell speed (P < 0.01) on fibronectin-coated substrates. Incubation of PR-39 treated cells with a soluble fibronectin derived heparin-binding peptide, as a competitive inhibitor of heparan sulfate/matrix interactions, abolished these effects. These data suggest that PR-39 mediated alterations of cell adhesion and motility may be related, in part, to the increased expression of heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) that accompany the upregulation of cell surface syndecan-4. Furthermore, this investigation supports the notion that factors which control syndecan-4 expression may play an important role in regulating adhesion related cell processes. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.