Laminin-121-Recombinant expression and interactions with integrins

Laminin-121, previously referred as to laminin-3, was expressed recombinantly in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells by triple transfection of full-length cDNAs encoding mouse laminin α1, β2 and γ1 chains. The recombinant laminin-121 was purified using Heparin-Sepharose followed by molecular sieve chromatography and shown to be correctly folded by electron microscopy and circular dichroism (CD). The CD spectra of recombinant laminin-121 were very similar to those of laminin-111 isolated from Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm tumor (EHS-laminin) but its Tm value was smaller than EHS-laminin and recombinant lamnin-111 suggesting that the replacement of the β chain reduced the stability of the coiled-coil structure of laminin-121. Its binding to integrins was compared with EHS-laminin, laminin-3A32 purified from murine epidermal cell line and recombinantly expressed laminins-111, -211 and -221. Laminin-121 showed the highest affinity to α6β1 and α7β1 integrins and furthermore, laminin-121 most effectively supported neurite outgrowth. Together, this suggests that the β2 laminins have higher affinity for integrins than the β1 laminins.