Identification with monoclonal antibodies of different regions of human plasma fibronectin, including that which interacts with human monocyte fibronectin receptors.

The determinant specificities of five monoclonal anti-fibronectin antibodies, designated BC7, CE9, BD4, AB3 and CPG1, were defined and mapped within intact human plasma fibronectin by immunoblot analyses with defined fragments of fibronectin. The latter were derived by tryptic, chymotryptic or cathepsin D digestion of the intact molecule and fractionated by DE-cellulose chromatography and gelatin and/or heparin affinity chromatography. Monoclonal BC7 recognizes intrachain disulphide-formed determinants within the 27,000 MW N-terminal domain; monoclonal CE9 recognizes determinants within an 18,000 MW fragment immediately adjacent to the carboxyl end of the gelatin-binding domain; monoclonal BD4 recognizes determinants within the cell-adhesive domain and within 150,000 of the N-terminus; monoclonal AB3 recognizes intrachain disulphide-formed determinants within 35,000 of the COOH-terminus of the intact molecule and detectable only on the alpha-chain polypeptide subunit; and monoclonal CPG1 recognizes determinants present on both chains of the intact molecule and immediately adjacent to the interchain disulphide bonds at the COOH-terminus. None of the epitopes recognized by these monoclonal antibodies is present at alternative regions of the intact molecule. Fab fragments of each of these monoclonal antibodies were incubated with gelatin-coated sheep erythrocytes which had been reacted with a fixed amount of intact plasma fibronectin. When these target particles were incubated with monolayers of human monocytes and the resultant rosettes were quantitated, the Fab fragments of BD4 markedly inhibited the proportion of monocytes binding these fibronectin-bearing targets, whereas none of the other Fab fragments had an inhibitory effect. Thus, monocyte fibronectin receptors which mediate adherence of fibronectin bridges to a target via gelatin recognize regions within the cell-adhesive domains of intact fibronectin but not regions at the amino or carboxy terminals.