Versican enhances locomotion of astrocytoma cells and reduces cell adhesion through its G1 domain

Versican is a large extracellular proteoglycan and is expressed in a variety of tissues including the central nervous system. A malignant astrocytoma cell line U87 with high motility expressed a higher level of versican than another malignant astrocytoma cell line U343 with lower motility. We observed that the U87 cells were less adherent to tissue culture plates than the U343 cells. To investigate the role of versican in astrocytoma cell migration, we generated recombinant products of a mini-versican construct expressed in COS-7 cells. We found that the mini-versican products enhanced astrocytoma cell migration. Furthermore, enhanced migration was promoted by the G1 domain but not the G3 domain of versican. We introduced culture medium containing products of the mini-versican, the G1, and the G3 constructs separately into the astrocytoma cell lines U87 and U343. The mini-versican and the G1 construct, but not the G3 construct, were shown to reduce astrocytoma cell adhesion. The present data suggest that versican exerts its effect on astrocytoma cell migration and adhesion through the G1 domain.