Cell Adhesion Activity of a 30-kDa Major Secreted Protein from Human Bladder Carcinoma Cells

Human bladder carcinoma cell line EJ-1 secreted a protein of 30 kDa as a major component. This protein was purified from the serum-free conditioned medium of EJ-1. Its N-terminal amino acid sequence was identical to that of fibroblast-derived endothelial cell growth factor (f-ECGF), but there were differences in their amino acid compositions and isoelectric points. The 30-kDa protein showed no effect on the growth of bovine capillary endothelial cells, but it promoted the attachment and spreading of rat liver cell line BRL and human umbilical vein endothelial cell line ECV-304. These results suggest that the 30-kDa protein, tentatively named "tumor-derived adhesion factor (TAF)", may be related with the aberrant cell adhesion of cancer cells.