Multiple Myeloma Cells Adhere to Netrin-1 Via Heparin-Sulphate Moieties

Abstract 3952

A major obstacle to the treatment of Multiple Myeloma (MM) is the localization of myeloma cells to the bone marrowstroma, enabling drug resistance. The exact mechanisms of adhesion of myeloma cells to the bone marrow are not known, but adhesion molecules and chemokine signals, in particular vascular cell adhesion protein 1 (VCAM-1) and C-X-C chemokine 12 (CXCL12) which control bone marrow tropism, are thought to be the main players. Netrin-1, which acts as an axonal guidance cue, plays a role in leukocyte migration in lymph nodes and in atherosclerotic lesions, but has not been tested as a substrate for myeloma cell adhesion previously. Based on expression of the netrin-1 receptor Deleted in Colorectal Cancer (DCC) on activated human B cells, we tested the ability of myeloma cells to adhere to netrin-1, an axonal guidance cue. Using interference reflection microscopy (IRM) which employs the method of interference of light reflected from nearby surfaces to measure cell-substratum distances and cell-substratum adhesion, we assessed cell adhesion and cell spreading on substrates immobilized on glass. Here, we used this technique to assess myeloma cell adhesion and migration on various substrates and found netrin-1 to be an exceptional adhesion ligand for myeloma cells.

We prepared glass substrates coated with the recombinants ligands intercellular adhesion molecule,ICAM-1(50μM), and VCAM-1(50μM), with or without chemokine ligand, CXCL12(0.1mg/mL), which have been implicated in plasma cells and myeloma cell migration, previously. We used freshly purified, fluorescently-labeled primary myeloma cells from newly diagnosed patients, prior to any treatment. Using IRM, we imaged the cell contacting the substrate in order to measure adhesion and differentiate crawling versus fluid flow movement. Based on the IRM image, we could calculate the fraction of cells in the field that were adhered to the substrate, and compared between conditions and for various patient samples. We observed that myeloma cells can adhere and migrate slowly on VCAM-1 in the presence of CXCL12, but are unable to adhere to ICAM-1 with or without chemokines. We tested myeloma cell binding to netrin-1 and saw a strong adhesion 60–90% of cells in 7 out of 9 patients samples tested. The cell spreading on netrin-1 was more than 3 times larger than on VCAM-1 with CXCL12 substrates. Expression of netrin-1 in the bone marrow has not been determined yet nor its role in MM. Heparin-like molecule, SST0001, has been tested in myeloma studies, in an attempt to interfere with heparinase activity and syndecan-1 shedding, and tumor growth. We tested pre-blocking netrin-1 substrates with heparin and observed elimination of greater than 95% of myeloma cell adhesion in all patients samples tested. Treating patients with heparin-like molecules may have additional functions, by blocking binding to netrin-1 and soluble signals that contain heparin-binding domains. Reciprocally, blocking heparin-sulfated groups with netrin-1 may block myeloma cell adhesion and can be used to targeting strategy for chemotherapeutic drugs as well.