Lewis X structure increases cell substratum adhesion in L cells.

cDNAs of alpha-1,3-fucosyltransferase as well as alpha-1,3/4-fucosyltransferase were placed under the control of a beta-actin promoter and cytomegalovirus enhancer and were introduced into L cells. The transfected cells expressing Le(x) antigen showed increased cell substratum adhesion as compared to the antigen-negative cells, when they were cultured for 2 to 4 h in Dulbecco-modified minimum essential medium containing 0.05% bovine serum albumin. The increased cell substratum adhesion was completely inhibited by cycloheximide and anti-integrin antiserum, and partly by an RGD peptide and EGTA. These findings indicate that Le(x) structure promotes cell adhesion to substratum-bound material secreted by cells, and that the increased adhesion is mediated by integrin. Western blotting experiments have revealed an 85 kDa protein and a 50-60 kDa protein as carriers of Le(x) antigen in transfected cells. The latter is likely to be basigin, which is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily and is considered to be an integrin-associated protein. We hypothesize that fucosylation of basigin enhances integrin-mediated cell substratum adhesion.