The CS5 peptide is a second site in the IIICS region of fibronectin recognized by the integrin alpha 4 beta 1. Inhibition of alpha 4 beta 1 function by RGD peptide homologues.

The alternatively spliced type III connecting segment (IIICS) region of fibronectin contains two distinct sites that support the adhesion of melanoma cells. These sites are contained within the synthetic peptides CS1 and CS5 (residues 1-25 and 90-109 of the IIICS, respectively). Recently, the cellular receptor for the CS1 site has been identified as the integrin heterodimer alpha 4 beta 1. In this report, we have investigated the role of the CS5 sequence in melanoma cell adhesion and the identity of its receptor. Adhesion to CS5, when presented to cells as an immobilized IgG conjugate, was blocked by antifunctional monoclonal antibodies directed against either the alpha 4 or beta 1 integrin subunits, but not by antibodies against other subunits, implying that alpha 4 beta 1 is also the receptor for CS5. In peptide inhibition experiments, CS5 was inhibitory for melanoma cell spreading on both CS5-IgG and CS1-IgG conjugates; conversely, CS1 inhibited spreading on both CS1-IgG and CS5-IgG. In both cases, peptide inhibition could be outcompeted by increasing the concentration of substrate-bound conjugate. These results suggest that CS1 and CS5 are recognized by the same or overlapping sites on alpha 4 beta 1. The minimal active sequence within CS5, the tetrapeptide Arg-Glu-Asp-Val (REDV), is somewhat related to the Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (RGDS) sequence that represents a major active site in the central cell-binding domain (CCBD) of fibronectin. When RGDS peptide homologues were tested for their ability to inhibit spreading of melanoma cells on CS1- and CS5-IgG conjugates, GRGDS, GRGES, and REDV were found to be inhibitory, while GRDGS had no effect. In contrast, spreading on a fibronectin fragment containing the CCBD was inhibited by GRGDS only. GRGDS was also able to elute alpha 4 beta 1 specifically from a CS1 affinity column, confirming directly that alpha 4 beta 1-IIICS interactions are sensitive to peptides containing this recognition motif. Because the minimal active sequence within CS1 is the tripeptide Leu-Asp-Val (LDV; Komoriya et al., manuscript submitted for publication), these findings together define a new adhesive recognition sequence, X-Asp-Y, used by alpha 4 beta 1 for binding to fibronectin. The central aspartate residue in this tripeptide is almost always essential, but some flexibility in the amino acid residues at X (glycine, leucine, or glutamic acid) and Y (serine or valine) is tolerated. Potential models for the interaction of the IIICS region with alpha 4 beta 1 are discussed.