Correlation of E-cadherin and alpha-catenin expression with differentiation of oral squamous cell carcinoma.
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.
Sakaki
T
T
Second Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Osaka Dental University, Japan.
Wato
M
M
Tamura
I
I
Nakajima
M
M
Morita
S
S
Kakudo
K
K
Shirasu
R
R
Tanaka
A
A
Sakaki
T
T
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
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; C495273:CTNNA1 protein, human; D015820:Cadherins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D051178:alpha Catenin