Summary
In vitro assays using endothelial cells (EC, bovine corneal) were performed to study adhesion and spreading on collagen types I and IV. Adhesion was quantitatively analyzed by counting the EC under a light microscope. Spreading was determined by measuring cell area using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Collagen types I, IV, and IV-F, a mixture of 70, 120, and 140 KD fragments of type IV, all promoted EC adhesion, Types IV and IV-F showed evidence of giving a more marked adhesion than type I. A study of cell area, carried out under identical conditions, such as those in the adhesion assay, showed that types I and IV-F, but not type IV, promoted cell spreading. This provides evidence that cell adhesion and spreading are indeed separate biological phenomena. Furthermore, the ability of fragments of type IV collagen to promote both cell adhesion and spreading may represent an inherent repair mechanism in damaged endothelium.
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Rixen, H., Kirkpatrick, C.J., Axer, T. et al. Adhesion and spreading of corneal endothelial cells on collagens type I and IV in vitro: a model to study mechanisms of endothelial repair. Res. Exp. Med. 190, 203–211 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00020023
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00020023