Albumin and Antioxidants Inhibit Serum-deprivation-induced Cell Adhesion in Hematopoietic Cells

Previously, we identified albumin as an inhibitory factor in serum for cell adhesion of T cells such as human Jurkat T and primary cultured human T cells. In the present study, we found that other hematopoietic cell lines including U-937 human monocytes, THP-1 human monocytes, K-562 promyelocytic leukemia cells, and HL-60 human leukemia cells, also adhere to tissue culture flasks when serum is withdrawn, and albumin exerts an inhibitory effect on cell adhesion by those cells, implying that this inhibition is a common phenomenon in hematopoietic cells. Furthermore, we found that cell adhesion is inhibited by antioxidants such as (-)-epigallocatechin- 3-gallate (EGCG), morin, and a-tocopherol. Our results suggest that albumin may inhibit basal cell adhesion of hematopoietic cells and that the oxidative balance in the plasma may be important for cell adhesion of hematopoietic cells in vivo.