Characterization of a transformation-sensitive protein in the extracellular matrix of chicken embryo fibroblasts.

The extracellular matrix of cultured chicken embryo fibroblasts undergoes a number of modifications during the early stages of oncogenic transformation. One alteration is increased production of a small protein (Mr approximately 21,000) which is transiently deposited in the matrix by transforming cells infected with LA24, a temperature-sensitive mutant of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) (Blenis, J., and Hawkes, S.P. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 770-774). This protein is a major component of substratum-associated material (material which remains attached to culture dishes after removal of cells with ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid). Its synthesis is stimulated by transformation of cells with NY68, another ts mutant of RSV, and also by treatment of normal, uninfected cells with the tumor promoter, phorbol myristate acetate. Accessibility of the 21-kDa protein to lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination indicates an exposed location within the matrix. The protein binds strongly to the culture dish and/or other matrix components. This interaction can be disrupted by sodium dodecyl sulfate but not by several nonionic detergents, unless beta-mercaptoethanol or KCl (0.5 M) are also present. High concentrations of urea or guanidine hydrochloride also remove the protein from the matrix. The 21-kDa protein is resistant to trypsin, collagenase, and the hydrolytic enzymes associated with cells transformed by the wild-type Prague A RSV but not to Pronase or chymotrypsin. A 21-kDa protein with properties similar to those described above is also detected in the medium and binds to the matrix, suggesting that a potential route of deposition of the 21-kDa protein in the matrix may be via shedding and subsequent interaction with other matrix components.