Enhanced fibronectin receptor expression in Rous sarcoma virus-induced tumors

The mechanisms by which cells acquire the capacity to invade interstitial connective tissues during malignancy are as yet uncertain. Since the fibronectin receptor complex has been implicated in transient, developmentally regulated steps of migration and morphogenesis in embryogenesis, we examined whether this receptor might be reexpressed at elevated levels in tumors. Immunofluorescence revealed increased expression of the receptor throughout frozen sections of Rous sarcoma virus-induced tumors in chickens, and expression was enhanced 4.7-fold after such malignant transformation of fibrocytes in vivo. Frozen thin sections showed that the increased antigen was localized diffusely in the plasma membrane. Western immunoblotting with monoclonal antibodies and immunoprecipitation analyses indicated that the tumor cell receptor contained all three known avian receptor subunits, i.e., Bands 1, 2, and 3. This type of induction of a key extracellular matrix receptor involved in cell migration may be a prerequisite for tumor cell invasion.