Role of laminin in maintenance of type II pneumocyte morphology and function

Loss of differentiated function by type II pneumocytes plated on plastic surfaces was demonstrated by decreased lamellar body content, increased cellular protein, and rapid cellular flattening, changes that were retarded modestly by plating cells on laminin-coated surfaces. Laminin surfaces also inhibited [3H]thymidine (THM) incorporation into cellular DNA by 40% compared with plastic at 40 h, but did not alter an additional mitogenic effect of rat serum over fetal calf serum. In contrast, cells plated on the laminin-rich basement membrane-like gel formed from an extract of EHS mouse sarcoma, matrix gel (MG), maintained a high content of intracellular lipids in lamellar inclusions and retained a rounded morphology for at least 3 days. MG markedly inhibited THM incorporation and morphological changes when cells were cultured on this surface or when MG was formed over cells initially plated on plastic for various intervals. The importance of the laminin component of MG was demonstrated when these surfaces were pretreated with a highly specific antilaminin serum. Type II cells commenced flattening on the treated MG surface, and THM incorporation increased with the same time course as did control cells on plastic. The data suggest that short-term culture and study of differentiated type II pneumocytes may require a laminin-rich substratum. THM incorporation into type II cell DNA provides an important early and sensitive index of cell-basement membrane interaction and subsequent maintenance of function.