title: Correlation of E-cadherin and alpha-catenin expression with differentiation of oral squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: The precise mechanism of disruption of cell-cell adhesion in oral squamous cell carcinomas has yet to be established. We therefore sought to clearly this mechanism by investigating expression of both E-cadherin (E-CD) and alpha-catenin (alpha-CAT), which is an intracellular CD-binding molecule, in squamous cell carcinomas of the tongue, gingiva and floor of the mouth using immunohistochemical and immunoblotting techniques. We found that reduced expression of both E-CD and alpha-CAT occurred more frequently in moderately- and poorly-differentiated carcinomas than in well-differentiated specimens (p < 0.001), and this reduced expression showed no regional specificity. Relatively frequent loss of alpha-CAT expression in poorly-differentiated carcinomas was detected by both immunohistochemical and immunoblotting analyses. These findings suggest that E-CD and alpha-CAT are both important regulators of intercellular adhesion, and that the reduction of these molecules is also linked to the process of tumor dedifferentiation.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Osaka Dental University, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakaki
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wato
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kakudo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shirasu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakaki
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D015153:Blotting, Western; D015820:Cadherins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D051178:alpha Catenin
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; C495273:CTNNA1 protein, human; D015820:Cadherins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D051178:alpha Catenin