Differentiation of primitive human multipotent hematopoietic progenitors into single lineage clonogenic progenitors is accompanied by alterations in their interaction with fibronectin.

We have previously demonstrated that primitive progenitors from human bone marrow termed long term bone marrow culture initiating cells (LTBMC-IC) adhere avidly to irradiated bone marrow stroma, while more mature clonogenic progenitors fail to do so. In this study we examine the interaction between these progenitors and components of the bone marrow stroma. (a) We demonstrate that both primitive LTBMC-IC and more mature clonogenic progenitors adhere to intact fibronectin. (b) Primitive LTBMC-IC and multi-lineage CFU-MIX progenitors adhere to the 33/66 kD COOH-terminal heparin-binding cell-adhesion promoting fragment of fibronectin, but adhere significantly less to its 75 kD RGDS-dependent cell-binding fragment. In contrast, more differentiated single-lineage progenitors adhere equally well to the 33/66 kD RGDS independent and the 75 kD RGDS-dependent cell-adhesion fragments of fibronectin. (c) Both primitive LTBMC-IC and clonogenic progenitors adhere to the three known cell-attachment sites in the 33/66 kD cell-adhesion promoting fragment, FN-C/H I, FN-C/H II and CS1. However, LTBMC-IC and CFU-MIX progenitors adhere significantly better to FN-C/H II than to the flanking FN-C/H I and CS1 cell-attachment sites. In contrast, single-lineage progenitors adhere equally well to all three cell attachment sites in the 33/66 kD cell-adhesion promoting fragment. (d) Finally, adhesion of primitive LTBMC-IC to intact irradiated stroma can be inhibited partially by peptide FN-C/H II and almost completely by a combination of FN-C/H II and peptide FN-C/H I and CS1. This study demonstrates that adhesive interactions between primitive hematopoietic progenitors and the extracellular matrix component fibronectin can occur. Specific changes in adhesion to the 33/66 kD cell-adhesion promoting fragment and the 75 kD RGDS-dependent cell-adhesion fragment of fibronectin are associated with differentiation of primitive multi-lineage progenitors into committed single-lineage progenitors. Such differences in adhesive interaction with fibronectin may allow hematopoietic progenitors at various stages of differentiation to interact with specific supportive loci of the bone marrow microenvironment. Finally, the ability to block adhesion of LTBMC-IC to intact irradiated stroma with peptides FN-C/H II, FN-C/H I and CS1 suggests that receptors responsible for this interaction may be important in the homing of primitive progenitors to the bone marrow.