Vitronectin has been used as a constituent of serum free media for culturing skeletal muscle and for growth and myelination of motoneurons by Schwann cells. It has also been used as a constituent of enriched co-culture media for culturing rat spinal cord.
Vitronectin human has been used to study the effects of ECM (extracellular matrix) ligands on C6 astroglioma cells. It has also been used as an attachment-promoting protein for coating the cell plates.
Vitronectin can be used with cells with integrin receptors that bind vitronectin, including platelets, endothelial cells, melanoma cells, and osteosarcoma. It is recommended as a cell culture substratum at 0.1 μg/cm2. Optimal conditions for attachment depend on cell line and application.
Vitronectin is a secreted glycoprotein which is synthesized in the liver. It is also secreted by respiratory epithelial cells and is present in healthy lungs. It circulates primarily in monomeric form, but can undergo conformational change to a structure that forms disulfide linked multimers. Recombinant human Vitronectin is a 459 amino acid single chain monomeric protein, which migrates at an apparent molecular weight of 75kDa by SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions. Recombinant vitronectin can function as a chemically defined matrix component in human embryonic stem cell renewal media.
The multimeric Vitronectin can efficiently bind to and incorporate into the extracellular matrix. Within the matrix, Vitronectin can support cell adhesion through binding to various integrins and other proteoglycans. Its interaction with integrin αvβ3 enhances hypoxia resistance and tumor cell invasion. It is also associated with cancer progression in various cancers. Vitronectin is involved in wound repair and also controls complement system. It works as a marker of profibrotic activity in liver, heart and kidney.
