Adhesion characteristics of murine metastatic and nonmetastatic tumor cells in vitro.

We have studied the attachment of mouse fibroblasts, transformed nonmetastatic fibroblasts, and metastatic fibrosarcoma cells to various substrates. The metastatic cells attach preferentially to type IV (basement membrane) collagen in the absence of serum, compared to type I collagen and plastic. In the presence of fibronectin, these cells attach well to both type I and type IV collagens. The normal and transformed fibroblasts attach to all these substrates, although the transformed fibroblasts attach more slowly. The ability to attach to type I collagen and plastic is correlated with the levels of fibronectin and collagen produced by these cells. The data indicate that the transformed and metastatic cells differ from normal cells in their attachment properties and ability to synthesize matrix proteins. The metastatic cells possess a unique system for binding to type IV collagen that could be important in enabling these cells to penetrate tissues bounded by basement membranes.