Tenascin-R (J1 160/180) inhibits fibronectin-mediated cell adhesion-functional relatedness to tenascin-C

Cell adhesion and neurite outgrowth on fibronectin is a multistep process modulated by different extra- and intra-cellular signals. Fibronectin-mediated cell attachment and spreading can be affected in a negative way by tenascin-C, an extracellular matrix glycoprotein expressed in a tempo-rally and spacially restricted manner during early mor-phogenesis. Tenascin-R (J1-160/180), consisting of two major isoforms of 160 kDa (tenascin-R 160) and 180 kDa (tenascin-R 180) in mammals, is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein of the central nervous system that shares high structural homologies with tenascin-C. Here we show that in relation to fibronectin-mediated adhesion, the two extra-cellular matrix molecules are also functionally closely related. When offered as mixed substrata with other extra-cellular matrix molecules, the two tenascin-R isoforms and tenascin-C derived from mouse brain selectively inhibit fibronectin-dependent cell adhesion and neurite outgrowth, and affect cell morphology of different mesenchymal and neural cells. This effect is partially due to interactions at the substrate level that result in a steric hindrance and/or conformational change of the cell binding sites of the fibronectin molecule. In addition, tenascin-R 180 and tenascin-C interact with cells by an RGD- and β1 integrin-independent mechanism, leading to cell rounding and detachment from such substrata. The expression of tenascin-R and tenascin-C in the nervous system at times and locations where fibronectin-mediated cellular processes take place may be related to the role of inhibitory signals in the extracellular matrix in the regulation of cell migration and differentiation in general.