MORPHOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES OF EPIDERMOID CARCINOMA A431 CELLS SPREAD
ON IMMOBILIZED LIGANDS
O. A. Petoukhova, L. V. Turoverova, I. V. Kropacheva, G. P. Pinaev
Institute of Cytology RAS, St. Petersburg;
e-mail: olvial@mail.cytspb.rssi.ru
Cell interaction with extracellular matrix is a multi-step process characterized by cell attachment to substrata
with subsequent cell spreading accompanied by actin cytoskeleton and cellular membrane receptor reorganization. It
has been shown elsewhere that epidermoid carcinoma A431 cells, spread on solid substrata coated with fibronectin,
laminin-2/4 or antibodies to EOF receptor, form specific actin filament structures typical for each particular
ligand. Here quantitative analysis of heterogeneous A431 cell population spread on the above ligands has been
reported. Cells were subdivided into morphological classes, according to their shape and actin filament structure,
and the relationship among classes under various experimental conditions were quantitatively estimated for every
ligand. We studied the influence of cell detachment pattern, short-term and long-term starvation, and cell incubation
in suspended state in the medium before plating on the cell population composition. It was possible to recognize
the modal morphological class of cells with typical actin cytoskeleton structure dominating for the ligand in the
population. Long-term starvation and incubation in suspension before cell spreading are considered as the crucial
experimental parameters leading to dramatic changes in cell population.
Key words: adhesion, fibronectin, laminin, EGF receptor antibodies, actin cytoskeleton
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