Freshly isolated adult rat hepatocytes exhibit a flat, extended morphology when cultured on dried rat tail collagen in the presence of growth factors; they actively synthesize DNA and express high levels of cytoskeletal mRNAs and proteins (actin, tubulin, cytokeratins, vinculin, a-actinin, and desmoplakin), while exhibiting low levels of liver-specific mRNAs (albumin, a,-inhibitor III, and a1-antitrypsin) and limited synthesis and secretion of albumin. Hepatocytes cultured on hydrated gel matrix from the Engelbreth-HolmSwarm (EHS) mouse tumor form small spherical aggregates and exhibit low DNA, cytoskeletal mRNA, and protein synthesis, while at the same time exhibiting elevated liver-specific mRNAs and albumin production; these cells, therefore, more nearly conform to the program of gene expression seen within the normal animal. Hepatocytes on hydrated rat tail collagen resemble those on dry collagen when cultured at low density, but at high density they form compact trabecular aggregates, synthesize negligible amounts of DNA, and maintain a pattern of gene expression resembling that of hepatocytes seeded on the EHS matrix. If cell morphology is compact, as on EHS or on hydrated rat tail collagen when densely populated, DNA synthesis and expression of cytoskeletal genes are low, while liver-specific mRNAs are abundant. When cells are extended the opposite is the case. Without the growth supplement DNA synthesis is low throughout but gene expression is little affected. These studies point to the importance of cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in determining the differentiated phenotype of hepatocytes, and they reveal an inverse relationship between cytoskeletal and liver-specific protein expression.Studies in a variety of cell culture systems suggest that changes in cell morphology are involved in the regulation of growth and gene expression and in the maintenance of differentiated functions (for reviews, see refs. 1 and 2). Cell morphology reflects the organization of the intracellular cytoskeletal network, which is partially determined by the interaction between the cells and their surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) (for reviews, see refs. 3-5). This suggests that the ECM influences the expression of differentiated functions through organization of the cytoskeleton (6, 7). Several studies in vitro have demonstrated cytoskeletal involvement in transmitting extracellular signals (mitogenic and differentiation-specific) that regulate various programs of gene expression (for reviews see refs. 1 and 2). It is not known as yet whether mechanisms that regulate the cytoskeleton, both at the level of gene expression and synthesis and at the level of organization of its proteins, are important components of the differentiation programs of highly specialized cells.It has been demonstrated that the expression of certain differentiated functions in cultured hepatocytes is dependent on the interaction of these cells with constituents of the ECM (8-13). Evidence suggests that particular cytoskeletal genes may...