PC12 adhesion and neurite formation on selected substrates are inhibited by some glycosaminoglycans and a fibronectin-derived tetrapeptide.

The effects of added soluble glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) on adhesion and neurite formation by cultured PC12 pheochromocytoma cells on several substrates were tested. PC12 cells adhere more rapidly to Petri plastic coated with fibronectin, laminin, poly-L-lysine, or conA, than to either uncoated Petri plastic or tissue culture plastic. Adhesion to poly-L-lysine, fibronectin- and laminin-coated dishes was significantly inhibited by added dextran sulfate and to a lesser extent heparin--but not by chondroitin sulfate. PC12 adhesion to fibronectin could also be totally inhibited by the putative fibronectin cell binding tetrapeptide L-arginyl-glycyl-L-aspartyl-L-serine (Pierschbacher, MD & Ruoslahti, E, Nature 309 (1984) 30). The inhibitory effects of combinations of this tetrapeptide and heparin or dextran sulfate (but not chondroitin sulfate or hyaluronic acid) were additive. Nerve growth factor (NGF) pretreatment increased the percentage of PC12 cells adherent to all substrates and reduced the GAG inhibition of adhesion. PC12 cells previously treated with NGF to induce morphologic differentiation will rapidly re-extend neurites when plated on all four substrates. On fibronectin and poly-L-lysine-coated dishes this neurite growth is inhibited by added heparin and dextran sulfate, while on laminin it is not. Neurite formation on fibronectin-coated dishes was also inhibited by low concentrations of fibronectin tetrapeptide. In summary, PC12 adhesion and neurite formation can be inhibited by sulfated GAGs on some substrates, including fibronectin, but not other substrates, suggesting that these cells have at least two independent molecular adhesion mechanisms.