QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

Vol. 17, Issue 8, 3664-3677, August 2006

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: E05-11-1070v1 17/8/3664    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mak, G. Z. Articles by Matlin, K. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mak, G. Z. Articles by Matlin, K. S.

Regulated Synthesis and Functions of Laminin 5 in Polarized Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Epithelial Cells

Grace Z. Mak^*, Gina M. Kavanaugh^*, Mary M. Buschmann^*, Shaun M. Stickley^*, Manuel Koch, Kathleen Heppner Goss^*, Holly Waechter^*, Anna Zuk, and Karl S. Matlin^*

*Laboratory of Epithelial Pathobiology, Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0581; Center for Biochemistry, Center for Molecular Medicine, and Department of Dermatology, University of Cologne, Cologne 50923, Germany; and Genzyme Corporation, Framingham, MA 01701

Submitted November 22, 2005; Revised May 31, 2005; Accepted June 1, 2006
Monitoring Editor: Asma Nusrat

Renal tubular epithelial cells synthesize laminin (LN)5 during regeneration of the epithelium after ischemic injury. LN5 is a truncated laminin isoform of particular importance in the epidermis, but it is also constitutively expressed in a number of other epithelia. To investigate the role of LN5 in morphogenesis of a simple renal epithelium, we examined the synthesis and function of LN5 in the spreading, proliferation, wound-edge migration, and apical–basal polarization of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. MDCK cells synthesize LN5 only when subconfluent, and they degrade the existing LN5 matrix when confluent. Through the use of small-interfering RNA to knockdown the LN5 3 subunit, we were able to demonstrate that LN5 is necessary for cell proliferation and efficient wound-edge migration, but not apical–basal polarization. Surprisingly, suppression of LN5 production caused cells to spread much more extensively than normal on uncoated surfaces, and exogenous keratinocyte LN5 was unable to rescue this phenotype. MDCK cells also synthesized laminin 5, a component of LN10, that independent studies suggest may form an assembled basal lamina important for polarization. Overall, our findings indicate that LN5 is likely to play an important role in regulating cell spreading, migration, and proliferation during reconstitution of a continuous epithelium.

Address correspondence to: Karl S. Matlin ( karl.matlin{at}uc.edu)