Differential effects of soluble and immobilized fibronectins on aortic endothelial cell proliferation and attachment.

We studied the effects of soluble and immobilized forms of plasma fibronectin on bovine aortic endothelial cell (AEC) proliferation and attachment. Soluble fibronectin stimulated AEC growth at 10 micrograms/ml, but at higher concentrations of soluble fibronectin AEC growth was progressively inhibited. The growth rates of arterial smooth muscle cells (ASMC) and dermal fibroblasts (DF) were not altered by soluble fibronectin concentrations of 10 to 100 micrograms/ml. Plasma fibronectin, immobilized by attachment to culture dish surfaces, had no significant effects on the proliferation of any of the cell types examined. The attachment rates of AEC were decreased in the presence of 50 micrograms/ml soluble fibronectin. Immobilized fibronectin increased the rate of AEC attachment, but had no significant effects on ASMC or DF attachment; however, 12 h after plating there was nearly 100% attachment in all groups, whether or not fibronectin was present in the system. That soluble and immobilized fibronectins elicit disparate cellular responses is consistent with published reports of different cell surface receptors for different forms of the protein; in this manner, cells enmeshed in an interstitial matrix containing immobilized fibronectin could still respond to soluble fibronectin in the extracellular milieu.