Cell substratum modulates responses of preosteoblasts to retinoic acid.

The aim of this study was to determine the role of ECM components of bone in regulating the differentiation and function of cells of the osteoblast lineage. Rat UMR 201 cells, phenotypically preosteoblast, were plated onto plastic tissue culture dishes or dishes coated with gelled type I collagen or reconstituted basement membrane (matrigel). Acute cell attachment assays showed that cells adhered to substrates in the following order: collagen > matrigel >> plastic. Proliferation rate up to 96 hr were similar on each substrate. However, if cells were treated with 10(-6) M retinoic acid (RA), proliferation rates were reduced compared with control for cells grown on collagen and matrigel but not on plastic. Morphological changes were matrix-specific; in subconfluent cultures, long thin processes were seen with cells grown on collagen and a pattern of interconnecting cell processes formed when cells were plated on matrigel. Striking differences were observed in the constitutive or RA-induced gene expression of cells grown on the different substrates. When cells plated on collagen were treated with RA, induction of mRNA for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as well as ALP enzyme activity were much less than with cells grown on plastic. In contrast, RA treatment induced osteopontin (OP) mRNA expression more strongly in cells plated on collagen compared with plastic within 24 hr and this was maintained for 72 hr. RA treatment produced a two fold increase of pro-alpha 1(I) collagen mRNA in cells grown on plastic and matrigel but not in cells grown on collagen. Growth on collagen produced changes in the way UMR 201 cells responded to RA from which they did not fully recover in subsequent 48-hr growth periods on plastic. These results indicate that ECM components regulate the function of and are capable of modulating RA-induced differentiation of preosteoblasts.