Influence of substratum on corneal epithelial cell growth and protein synthesis.

To evaluate the effect of substratum on corneal epithelial cell growth and on protein synthesis, bacteriological dishes were coated with laminin, fibronectin, Type I collagen or Type IV collagen. Cell growth was enhanced by day 6 on both laminin and Type I collagen substrata. Adhesion sites and parallel microfilament arrays were present only on cells cultured on laminin coated substratum. The synthesis of connective tissue and cytoskeletal proteins was influenced by the four different substrata. Both the time course and the amount synthesized was affected. The results of this study indicate that the substratum plays a significant role in regulating the synthesis of specific proteins.