Defective actin organization in cultured skin fibroblasts from individuals with inherited colon adenocarcinoma is not restored by addition of fibronectin.

Cultured skin fibroblasts from patients with hereditary adenomatosis of the colon and rectum (ACR) have a disorganized cytoskeleton. Since fibronectin has been found to restore normal cytoskeletal and cellular morphology to transformed cells, we investigated the fibronectin pattern in ACR cells. We found that although both fibronectin synthesis and binding to the cell surface were apparently normal, addition of fibronectin did not restore a normal distribution of actin cables to ACR cells. The data suggest that coupling of cell surface-bound fibronectin to the cytoskeleton might be constitutively defective in ACR cells.