A possible function in cell-substrate adhesion of a metabolic product of L-M cells

Abstract

L-M cells obtained from a suspension culture, if suspended in fresh serum-free medium and plated onto either plastic or glass to which they become firmly attached, have a low viability when scraped from the substrate within a few hours of seeding. If L-M cells from a suspension culture are grown on plastic in “conditioned” medium (medium in which cells have been grown), the viability after mechanical removal is high. Pretreatment of plastic with conditioned medium also greatly reduces the damage sustained by cells seeded onto it in fresh medium, and subsequently removed by scraping. If the test cells for seeding onto plastic surfaces in fresh medium are obtained from monolayer rather than suspension cultures, fewer are killed on mechanical removal. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that cells in suspension and monolayer culture synthesize a substance or substances of high molecular weight which may be adsorbed onto an artificial surface and serve as a substrate for the cells. They also suggest that in monolayer culture the secreted substances become adherent to the cells and the substrate, whereas in suspension culture they are not attached to the cells.