Figure 4

Soluble nonfibrillar vitronectin oligomers compromise cell viability. Recombinant vitronectin (rVn) oligomers are toxic to SH-SH5Y (white bars) and RPE cells (grey bars) in a dose-dependent manner, as evidenced by impaired MTT reduction. Plasma-purified (hVn) and recombinant vitronectin aged in PBS exhibit mild toxicity (hatched bars). RPE toxicity was significantly attenuated when 5 μM recombinant vitronectin oligomers were pre-incubated with an equimolar amount of A11 antibody prior to treatment (black bar), although complete rescue was not observed. Cell viability was assessed spectrophotometrically using an MTT-based assay. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. (n = 3; **p < 0.01).