Skip to main content
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1982 Jan;79(2):685–689. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.2.685

Binding properties of a cell adhesion molecule from neural tissue.

U Rutishauser, S Hoffman, G M Edelman
PMCID: PMC345811  PMID: 6952220

Abstract

We have previously identified and purified a cell surface glycoprotein from retina and brain, called neural cell adhesion molecule or N-CAM, that appears to be involved in neural cell--cell adhesion, the fasciculation of neurites, and the formation of normal tissue patterns in the retina. The present studies reveal that artificial vesicles containing lipid and purified N-CAM bind to different cell types with a specificity similar to that of nerve cells. The same results were obtained with soluble N-CAM that had been briefly exposed to pH 3. In both cases the binding altered the rate of aggregation of neural cells and, like cell--cell adhesion, was inhibited by antibodies against N-CAM. The results support the proposal that N-CAM is a ligand in the formation of bonds between nerve cell membranes. Moreover, results of studies of vesicle--vesicle interactions and of N-CAM binding to cells coated with anti-(N-CAM) Fab' fragments were consistent with the idea that the N-CAM molecules on different cells may interact directly to form cell--cell bonds.

Full text

PDF

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bertolotti R., Rutishauser U., Edelman G. M. A cell surface molecule involved in aggregation of embryonic liver cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Aug;77(8):4831–4835. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.8.4831. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Brackenbury R., Rutishauser U., Edelman G. M. Distinct calcium-independent and calcium-dependent adhesion systems of chicken embryo cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Jan;78(1):387–391. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.1.387. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brackenbury R., Thiery J. P., Rutishauser U., Edelman G. M. Adhesion among neural cells of the chick embryo. I. An immunological assay for molecules involved in cell-cell binding. J Biol Chem. 1977 Oct 10;252(19):6835–6840. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Buskirk D. R., Thiery J. P., Rutishauser U., Edelman G. M. Antibodies to a neural cell adhesion molecule disrupt histogenesis in cultured chick retinae. Nature. 1980 Jun 12;285(5765):488–489. doi: 10.1038/285488a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Frazier W., Glaser L. Surface components and cell recognition. Annu Rev Biochem. 1979;48:491–523. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.48.070179.002423. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Holloway P. W. A simple procedure for removal of Triton X-100 from protein samples. Anal Biochem. 1973 May;53(1):304–308. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(73)90436-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. McConahey P. J., Dixon F. J. A method of trace iodination of proteins for immunologic studies. Int Arch Allergy Appl Immunol. 1966;29(2):185–189. doi: 10.1159/000229699. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Rutishauser U., Edelman G. M. Effects of fasciculation on the outgrowth of neurites from spinal ganglia in culture. J Cell Biol. 1980 Nov;87(2 Pt 1):370–378. doi: 10.1083/jcb.87.2.370. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Rutishauser U., Gall W. E., Edelman G. M. Adhesion among neural cells of the chick embryo. IV. Role of the cell surface molecule CAM in the formation of neurite bundles in cultures of spinal ganglia. J Cell Biol. 1978 Nov;79(2 Pt 1):382–393. doi: 10.1083/jcb.79.2.382. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Rutishauser U., Thiery J. P., Brackenbury R., Edelman G. M. Adhesion among neural cells of the chick embryo. III. Relationship of the surface molecule CAM to cell adhesion and the development of histotypic patterns. J Cell Biol. 1978 Nov;79(2 Pt 1):371–381. doi: 10.1083/jcb.79.2.371. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Rutishauser U., Thiery J. P., Brackenbury R., Sela B. A., Edelman G. M. Mechanisms of adhesion among cells from neural tissues of the chick embryo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1976 Feb;73(2):577–581. doi: 10.1073/pnas.73.2.577. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Thiery J. P., Brackenbury R., Rutishauser U., Edelman G. M. Adhesion among neural cells of the chick embryo. II. Purification and characterization of a cell adhesion molecule from neural retina. J Biol Chem. 1977 Oct 10;252(19):6841–6845. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Turner D. C. Differentiation in cultures derived from embryonic chicken muscle: the postmitotic, fusion-capable myoblast as a distinct cell type. Differentiation. 1978 Mar 13;10(2):81–93. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-0436.1978.tb00949.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES