Reduction in fibronectin expression and alteration in cell morphology are coincident in NIH3T3 cells expressing a...

Fibronectin within the extracellular matrix plays a role in cell attachment, spreading, and shape, while it also affects aspects of cell proliferation. Transcription factors such as E2F1 are also known to regulate cell shape and cell proliferation. Yet, to date no linkage has been established between fibronectin expression and E2F1. We show here that cells constitutively expressing a mutant E2F1 protein (E2F1d87) produce reduced amounts of fibronectin mRNA and protein. The altered expression of fibronectin seen in the E2F1d87 expressing cells is due, in part, to a reduction in transcription from the fibronectin promoter. Providing exogenous fibronectin, but not Type I collagen or laminin, as a substrate for cell adhesion is sufficient to revert the altered morphology and reestablish actin-containing microfilaments lost in the mutant cell line. An additional characteristic of the cells expressing the mutant E2F1 is that they demonstrate slow growth and a doubling in S phase duration. While providing exogenous fibronectin as an adhesion substrate did not shorten the S phase duration in the mutant line, it did significantly shorten the S phase duration in the parental NIH3T3 cell line, implicating a role for the extracellular matrix in regulating S phase transit in normal cells.