Versican Modulates Embryonic Chondrocyte Morphology via the Epidermal Growth Factor-like Motifs in G3

Abstract

This investigation was designed to characterize the effect of the extracellular matrix molecule versican on chondrocyte morphology, using the well-studied chondrocyte cell culture system. When cultured chondrocytes reverted or “dedifferentiated” to a fibroblast-like morphology, we found that versican expression was significantly enhanced. Transfection of chondrocytes, isolated from embryonic chicken sterna, with a chicken miniversican construct accelerated the reversionprocess, while expression of an antisense construct inhibited it. A mutant miniversican lacking two epidermal growth factor-like motifs (versicanΔEGF) promoted differentiation, as shown by morphological changes and changes in the expression of other extracellular matrix molecules. A truncated versican mutant, the G3ΔEGF, a G3 domain lacking its two epidermal growth factor-like motifs, also enhanced differentiation. This effect is related to G3ΔEGF-induced change in cytoskeleton, since transfected cells exhibited misassembly of actin filaments. This article thus provides the first evidence that versican modulates chondrocyte morphology via changes in cytoskeletal structure, and may imply that extracellular matrix molecules play an important role in cell differentiation.