Adhesive properties and integrin expression profiles of two colonic cancer populations differing by their spreading on laminin.

The mostly undifferentiated parental HT29 (HT29p) human colonic adenocarcinoma cell line and a differentiated subpopulation selected by the anti-cancer drug 5-fluorouracil (HT29-Fu) (Lesuffleur et al. (1991) Int. J.

Dual and asynchronous deposition of laminin chains at the epithelial-mesenchymal interface in the gut.

The production of laminin by 14-day fetal rat intestinal endoderm and mesenchyme was investigated. The amount of neosynthesized laminin was measured after purification using affinity chromatography. Chain composition of laminin was analyzed by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence staining.

Changes in the expression of laminin during intestinal development.

The expression of laminin, a major glycoprotein constituent of basement membranes, was investigated in the rat developing intestine. The biosynthesis of laminin was studied after metabolic labeling of intestinal segments taken at various stages of development; the neosynthesized laminin was purified by affinity chromatography on heparin-Sepharose. Immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation experiments allowed us to analyze its constitutive chains.

Altered deposition of basement-membrane molecules in co-cultures of colonic cancer cells and fibroblasts.

Two human colon carcinoma cell lines, HT29 and Caco-2 were co-cultured with fetal rat or human skin fibroblasts. Their morphological features, ultra-structural characteristics at the heterologous cell interface, and the deposition of basement-membrane molecules [laminin, type-IV collagen, heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG)] at the epithelial-stromal junction were analyzed. The 2 cell lines behaved differently.

Changes in glycosaminoglycan expression in the rat developing intestine.

Synthesis of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains was studied in the developing rat intestine. Intestinal segments, taken at various developmental stages, were exposed to 3H-glucosamine and 35S-sulfate for 6 hours. The amounts of 3H-GAGs (total GAGs) and of 35S-GAGs (sulfated GAGs) showed a clear age-dependence, with a broad maximum in the fetal period when dramatic growth and morphogenesis occur.