Human Mac-2 binding protein (M2BP) was prepared in recombinant form from the culture medium of 293 kidney cells and consisted of a 92 kDa subunit. The protein was obtained in a native state as indicated by CD spectroscopy, demonstrating alpha-helical and beta-type structure, and by protease resistance and immunological analysis. It was highly modified by N- and O-glycosylation but not by glycosaminoglycans. Ultracentrifugation showed non-covalent association into oligomers with molar masses of 1000-1500 kDa. Electron microscopy showed ring-like shapes with diameters of 30-40 nm. M2BP bound in solid-phase assays to collagens IV, V and VI, fibronectin and nidogen, but not to fibrillar collagens I and III or other basement membrane proteins. The protein also mediated adhesion of cell lines at comparable strength with laminin. Adhesion to M2BP was inhibited by antibodies to integrin beta1 subunits but not to alpha2 and alpha6 subunits, RGD peptide or lactose. This distinguishes cell adhesion of M2BP from that of laminin and excludes involvement of lactose-binding galectin-3. Immunological assays demonstrated variable secretion by cultured human cells of M2BP, which was detected in the extracellular matrix of several mouse tissues.