title: Distribution of E-cadherin and Ep-CAM in the human lung during development and after injury.
abstract: Paraffin sections were obtained of human fetal, adult, and pathological lung (pulmonary fibrosis after radiotherapy or chemotherapy). The localization of epithelial adhesion molecules E-cadherin and Ep-CAM (former epithelial surface 40 kDa glycoprotein) was investigated by immunoperoxidase and/or immunofluorescence techniques with monoclonal antibodies. During development, the epithelia of the primary pulmonary primordium, the secondary bronchi and the adult bronchial epithelium retained immunoreactivity for E-cadherin and Ep-CAM with lateral immunostaining of cell membranes. In normal adult lungs, Ep-CAM was detected in type I and II alveolar epithelial cells, whereas E-cadherin was confined to the basolateral domain of type II cells. In pulmonary fibrosis, Ep-CAM could be further detected on the cell surface of epithelial remnants. In contrast, E-cadherin expression was characterized by a change of the membrane localization to a spotty, cytoplasmic pattern in the alveolar epithelium, possibly indicating functional inactivation of the protein during fibrogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, Technical University of Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kasper
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Behrens
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schuh
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis*; D015820:Cadherins / Q000032:analysis*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000032:analysis*; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development; D000071858:Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008168:Lung / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016612:Paraffin Embedding; D011247:Pregnancy; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D015820:Cadherins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D000071858:Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule