Integrin-binding and cell-adhesion studies of fibulins reveal a particular affinity for alpha IIb beta 3

The extracellular matrix proteins fibulin-1 (variants C and D) and fibulin-2 occur in basement membranes and in vessel walls and are thus potential candidates for cellular interactions. Recombinant forms of these proteins were obtained from stably transfected kidney cell clones and examined for cell-adhesion activity and binding to five different purified integrins. The two variants of mouse fibulin-1 were inactive in all these assays. Mouse fibulin-2, however, bound to alpha IIb beta 3 integrin almost as strongly as fibrinogen, while a lower activity was found for alpha V beta 3 and almost none for alpha 5 beta 1 integrin. Synthetic SVPRGDLDG peptide, corresponding to the single RGD site of mouse fibulin-2, was a strong antagonist of alpha IIb beta 3 integrin binding. Its affinity for alpha V beta 3 and alpha 5 beta 1 integrins was, however, 10- to 50-fold lower compared to GRGDS. Mouse fibulin-2 also promoted adhesion of thrombin-stimulated platelets and of some established cell lines which could be inhibited by RGD peptides. Human fibulin-2, in which the RGD sequence is changed to RSS, bound less strongly to alpha IIb beta 3 integrin and showed no cell-adhesion activity. Together these data suggest a potential role in hemostatic control for mouse fibulin-2 and possibly also for human fibulin-2.