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Role of the E-cadherin/α-catenin complex in modulating cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesive properties of invasive colon carcinoma cells

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Abstract

Background: The clinical behavior of colorectal cancer depends on its ability to invade and metastasize. Metastatic cells must dissociate from other cells and invade through basement membrane and stroma. Cell-cell adhesion in epithelial cells is mediated by the cell surface protein E-cadherin in association with α- and β-catenin, which link E-cadherin to the cytoskeleton. Decreased cell-cell adhesion and increased motility on laminin have been correlated with more poorly differentiated and aggressive carcinomas.

Methods: In this study, the RKO cell line, previously shown by us to lack E-cadherin expression, was transfected with the complementary DNA for E-cadherin. The transfectants were selected for high levels of surface expression by sequential FACS and examined in functional assays.

Results: In comparison to control transfectants, the E-cadherin transfectants exhibited a more epithelial-like morphology, a 30% increase in Ca2+-dependent cell-cell aggregation, and a markedly reduced motility on the matrix proteins, collagen I and laminin.

Conclusions: These data demonstrate that correction of a defect in the cadherin/catenin cell-cell adhesion complex, often found in poorly differentiated and highly invasive tumors, facilitates increased cell-cell adhesion and retards tumor cell migration on basement membrane and stromal proteins.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Cancer Biology, New England Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 50 Binney St., 02115, Boston, MA, USA

    Elizabeth Breen MD, Glenn Steele Jr MD, PhD &  Arthur M. Mercurio PhD

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  1. Elizabeth Breen MD
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  2. Glenn Steele Jr MD, PhD
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  3. Arthur M. Mercurio PhD
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Breen, E., Steele, G. & Mercurio, A.M. Role of the E-cadherin/α-catenin complex in modulating cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesive properties of invasive colon carcinoma cells. Annals of Surgical Oncology 2, 378–385 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02306369

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02306369

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