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Published on: August 22, 2016
The C-terminal region of NELL1 mediates osteoblastic cell adhesion through integrin α3β1
Ai Hasebe1, Yoko Nakamura, Hiroki Tashima
1Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.
Abstract:
NELL1 is a secretory osteogenic protein containing several structural motifs that suggest that it functions as an extracellular matrix component. To determine the mechanisms underlying NELL1-induced osteoblast differentiation, we examined the cell-adhesive activity of NELL1 using a series of recombinant NELL1 proteins. We demonstrated that NELL1 promoted osteoblastic cell adhesion through at least three cell-binding domains located in the C-terminal region of NELL1. Adhesion of cells to NELL1 was strongly inhibited by function-blocking antibodies against integrin α3 and β1 subunits, suggesting that osteoblastic cells adhered to NELL1 through integrin α3β1. Further, focal adhesion kinase activation is involved in NELL1 signaling.
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