The digestion of cell surface-associated glycosaminoglycans by crude and purified flavobacter heparinum enzymes: disparate effects on cell adhesion.

The effects of crude and purified glycosaminoglycan (GAG) lyases on cell adhesion to plastic substrates were studied in three established cell lines. In the presence of crude heparinase, BALB/c 3T3 and B16.F10 melanoma cells and a fibrosarcoma line were markedly inhibited in their ability to attach and spread on two types of tissue culture-grade plastic. The crude enzyme effect was dose dependent, reversible, and co-eluted with heparinase activity by Sepharose Cl-6B chromatography. Boiling of the preparation, however, did not eliminate its effect. Furthermore, none of the purified GAG lyases which were tested reproduced the effect of the crude preparation. Therefore, our results indicate that although GAG lyases are effective in digesting the GAGs of cell surfaces, the removal of these substances has no perceptible effect on the substrate adhesion of the three cell types evaluated.