Attachment of human pancreatic tumor cell lines to collagen in vitro

The attachment to purified collagens of three cell lines established from human pancreatic carcinomas was investigated. PANC-1 and CAPAN-1 cells attached to type I, III, and IV collagens in the absence of fetal bovine serum. MIA PaCa-2 cells, on the other hand, attached only to type IV collagen. In the case of MIA PaCa-2 cells, the attachment occurs more slowly and to a lesser extent. Increasing concentrations of fetal bovine serum had no effect on the attachment of PANC-1 and CAPAN-1 cells to the collagens. However, the attachment of MIA PaCa-2 cells to all the collagen types was greatly enhanced by 10% fetal bovine serum. This enhancement was shown to be due to the fibronectin present in the serum.