Adhesion properties, intermediate filaments and malignant behaviour of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells in vitro.
This study compared phenotype and behaviour of seven head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines and normal epithelial cells. Indications were found that in HNSCC cells: 1) loss of the cell-cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin was correlated with loss of epithelioid cell morphology but not with loss of cell-cell cohesion; 2) reduced expression of the cell-cell adhesion molecule desmoglein was unrelated to cell shape or motility; 3) high expression of the cell-substrate adhesion molecule alpha 6 beta 4, a receptor for laminin, corresponded with epithelioid colony formation while, in our adhesion assay, low expression of alpha 6 beta 4 paradoxically coincided with an increased adhesion to laminin; 4) presence of vimentin intermediate filaments coincided with loss of anchorage dependency. We propose that by simultaneous downregulation of E-cadherin, replacement of alpha 6 beta 4 by an aberrant laminin receptor and co-expression of vimentin a malignant phenotype arises of spindle-shaped, motile, anchorage-independent HNSCC cells with enhanced laminin-binding capacity.
Tomson
A M
AM
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Groningen, The Netherlands.
Scholma
J
J
Meijer
B
B
Koning
J G
JG
de Jong
K M
KM
van der Werf
M
M
D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000378:metabolism*; D002450:Cell Communication; D002465:Cell Movement; D048429:Cell Size; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051182:Desmogleins; D051180:Desmoplakins; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007382:Intermediate Filaments / Q000378:metabolism*; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism
D015820:Cadherins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D051182:Desmogleins; D051180:Desmoplakins; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D014746:Vimentin