Hyaluronate can function as a cell adhesion molecule and CD44 participates in hyaluronate recognition.

A cell adhesion model was previously used to select a series of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which were subsequently found to recognize CD44/Pgp-1. Interest in these reagents increased with the finding that they totally inhibited production of lymphoid or myeloid cells in long-term bone marrow cultures. Further investigation has now revealed that hyaluronate is a potential ligand for CD44 and that hyaluronate recognition accounts for the adhesion between B lineage hybridoma and stromal cells. The hybridoma cells adhered to hyaluronate-coated plastic wells as well as to monolayers of stromal cells. The adhesion in both cases was inhibited by treatment with hyaluronidases, and did not require divalent cations. Addition of exogenous hyaluronate also diminished binding of lymphoid cells to stromal cells. One of several mAbs to Pgp-1/CD44 was particularly effective at blocking these interactions. Since hyaluronate and Pgp-1/CD44 were present on both cell types, experiments were done to determine the cellular location of interacting molecules required for the adhesion process. Treatment of lymphoid cells with an anti-Pgp-1/CD44 antibody was more inhibitory than antibody treatment of the stromal cells. Conversely, hyaluronidase treatment of stromal cells reduced subsequent binding more than treatment of the lymphoid cells. Adhesive interactions that involve hyaluronate and CD44 could contribute to a number of cell recognition processes, including ones required for normal lympho-hemopoiesis.