title: N-cadherin promotes adhesion between invasive breast cancer cells and the stroma.
abstract: Calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecules (cadherins) are involved in maintaining the epithelial structure of a number of tissues including the mammary gland. In breast and other tumor types, loss of E-cadherin expression has been seen in high grade tumors and correlates with increased invasiveness. Here we show high levels of expression of N-cadherin in the most invasive breast cancer cell lines which was inversely correlated with their expression of E-cadherin. A stromal cell line also expressed N-cadherin in accordance with its fibroblastic morphology. N-cadherin localized to areas of cell-cell contact in all cells that expressed it. Calcium-dependent intercellular adhesion of N-cadherin-expressing breast cancer and stromal cells was specifically inhibited by an anti N-cadherin monoclonal antibody. In addition, N-cadherin promoted the interaction of invasive breast cancer cells with mammary stromal cells; in contrast, E-cadherin expressing cell lines did not co-aggregate with stromal cells. The combined results suggest a functional role for N-cadherin in cohesion of breast tumor cells which, in addition promotes their interaction with the surrounding stromal cells, thereby facilitating invasion and metastasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10021, USA.
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Hazan
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Whooley
authors.forename: P I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Borgen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D051178:alpha Catenin; D051176:beta Catenin
chemical_list: C495273:CTNNA1 protein, human; C495270:CTNNB1 protein, human; D015820:Cadherins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D051178:alpha Catenin; D051176:beta Catenin