Alteration of the antigenic structure of human fibronectin caused by complexing with collagen.

The complex formation between fibronectin and denatured collagen is associated with a significant decrease of antigenic expression of the fibronectin epitopes. This conclusion is evidenced by critical changes in the value of competitive inhibition parameters such as CImax. Generally, an alteration of the fibronectin antigenic structure is similar to that observed after thermic denaturation of the molecule.