Evidence for a K+ channel requirement in spreading of rat basophilic leukemia cells on fibronectin-coated surfaces.

We investigated the ionic requirements for the early events of cell-extracellular matrix interactions leading to cell spreading. We found that potassium ions were required specifically in several cell types. Adhesion to fibronectin- (FN) coated surfaces was independent of K+ in the medium. In contrast, cells that adhered to FN in the absence of K+ failed to spread. This requirement for K+ occurred only during a discrete time frame: in the first 15 minutes following adhesion. Moreover, we identified a specific trans-membrane flux of the radioactive K+ analog 86Rb+, the kinetics of which correlated with this requirement. Both this ion flux and cell spreading were blocked by the K+ -channel inhibitors tetraethylammonium (TEA) and 4-aminopyridine (4-AP). Our results suggest that this K+ ion flux and the channels that regulate it are important in regulating the initial responses to adhesion that lead to spreading.