Attachment of smooth muscle cells to collagen and their migration toward platelet-derived growth factor.

Abstract

Smooth muscle cells from fetal sheep use fibronectin to bind to type I and type III collagens but bind to type V collagen by a trypsin-resistant intrinsic glycoconjugate. The binding site on type V collagen is located in the .alpha.A chain. By using collagen-coated filters in a modified Boyden chamber assay for chemotaxis, it was observed that the platelet-derived growth factor was chemotactic for smooth muscle cells but that several other growth factors were inactive. The migration of smooth muscle cells from the media to the intima of a blood vessel, which leads to the formation of an atherosclerotic plaque, may be the result of a chemotactic migration of cells responsive to the platelet-derived growth factor.