Abstract
Fibroblast like cells (swiss 3T3 cells) treated by trypsin under various conditions were cultured within collagen gel. Contraction of collagen gel was more retarded with cells treated as increasing concentration of trypsin or as increasing time of trypsin treatment. Number of spherical cells within collagen gel observed by phase-contrast micrography 6hr after culture increased with increasing concentration of trypsin or time of trypsin treatment, while bipolar cells decreased. These results suggest that cell surface contains a membrane protein which is trypsin-sensitive and which interacts with collagen, ultimately contributing to contraction of collagen gel. Correlation between contraction of collagen gel and morphological change of cells might be realized by the membrane protein assumed to exist. It seems that the delay of contraction by trypsin treatment of cells is related to a prolonged period during which the shape of cells changes from sphere to bipolar.
