Retinoids and Cell Adhesion

This chapter summarizes the salient methodologies and pertinent data of the adhesive effects of retinoic acid and other retinoids on fibroblastic cell lines. The chapter shows the effect of different concentrations of retinoic acid on the detachment of BALB/3TI2 cells. Cells are found to adhere more strongly when cultured in the presence of retinoic acid (RA) for 3 days. The time required for cell detachment varies with the type of plastic and its preparation for tissue culture purposes. In addition to increasing the adhesiveness of fibroblasts to plastic, retinoids also enhance the ability of fibroblastic cells to attach to specific extracellular matrix components. In this investigation, the NIH 3T3 fibroblast cell system is employed for most observations, but the observed effect applies to a variety of fibroblastic cells. The retinoid also causes an increased attachment to laminin in all the nontransformed cells tested, including NIH 3T3, 3T3-Swiss, 3T6-Swiss, and BALB/3T3. In contrast, transformed fibroblasts show a higher attachment to laminin substrates as compared to their untransformed counterparts. Varied responses to RA are observed.