| abstract |
The invention features a method of modulating, e.g., inhibiting or promoting, the spatial or positional relationship of a cell to a substrate, or modulating the intracellular response of a cell to a substrate, in vitro or in vivo. The method includes administering an agent which modulates the interaction, e.g., the binding, of the syndecan-4 ectodomain with a counterligand, thereby modulating the spatial or positional relationship of a cell to a substrate, or modulating the intracellular response of a cell to a substrate. The preferred counterligand is an ECM component, e.g., the heparin-binding domain of a component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) such as fibronectin, vitronectin, a laminin or a collagen. The invention also features methods of identifying compounds which modulate, e.g., inhibit or promote, the spatial or positional relationship of a cell to a substrate, or modulate the intracellular response of a cell to a substrate, and methods of treating a subject having a disorder characterized by unwanted or abnormal cell adhesion or spreading, e.g., cancer. |