Preadipocyte adhesion and migration dynamics on ECM proteins

The adhesion of cells to and migration on extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are fundamental processes important in physiological and pathological mechanisms as well as tissue engineering design. Although preadipocyte (PA)-to-adipocyte differentiation (i.e., adipogenesis) has been well investigated, knowledge of PA adherence and migration dynamics remains obscure. This study investigates whether enhanced rat PA adhesion can be obtained on surfaces coated with the purified ECM proteins fibronectin, laminin (LN), collagen I, or collagen IV using a sedimentation adhesion assay at various incubation times (0.5-3 h). Moreover, the nature of the adhesion molecules is investigated using mAbs to specific integrin subunits. Finally, PA migration is quantitatively assessed using time-lapse digital microscopy. Results demonstrate that LN provides the optimum substrate for PA adherence. Moreover, mAb studies suggest the α₁β₁ integrin is involved in PA adherence to LN. PA migration kinetics on LN substrata are currently under investigation. We conclude that PA adherence to and migration on LN may serve as important processes for designing bioactive scaffolds in adipose tissue engineering.