Expression of E-cadherin and catenins on testis tumor.
E-cadherin (ECD) is a homophilic Ca(2+)-dependent adhesion molecule associated with cell-to-cell interactions and normal growth. Recent reports have suggested that decrease or loss of ECD facilitates tumor progression and/or metastasis. ECD functions in a complex called an adherens junction, which includes several other proteins including alpha- and beta-catenin. In the present study, fresh-frozen sections from 32 testis cancers, 16 seminomas and 16 non-seminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT), were examined immunohistochemically. E-cadherin was not expressed on normal germ cells, but expressed on 3 (18.8%) of 16 seminomas and 10 (62.5%) of 16 NSGCTs, mainly on the epithelial component of teratoma cells. alpha-Catenin was detected on 0 (0%) of 13 seminomas and 4 (25%) of 16 NSGCTs. beta-Catenin was detected on 10 (71.4%) of 14 seminomas and 13 (81.2%) of 16 NSGCTs. ECD was detected significantly more frequently on NSGCTs than on seminomas. Immunoblot analysis confirmed the expression of ECD and beta-catenin in NSGCTs. Expression of ECD and catenins may reflect the degree of differentiation and provide some information on the character of the tumor.
Saito
T
T
Department of Urology, Niigata Cancer Center Hospital, Niigata, Japan. saitoshi@poplar.ocn.ne.jp
Katagiri
A
A
Watanabe
R
R
Tanikawa
T
T
Kawasaki
T
T
Tomita
Y
Y
Takahashi
K
K
D000328:Adult; D015153:Blotting, Western; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D018237:Germinoma / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D018239:Seminoma / Q000378:metabolism; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D015534:Trans-Activators; D051178:alpha Catenin; D051176:beta Catenin
C495273:CTNNA1 protein, human; C495270:CTNNB1 protein, human; D015820:Cadherins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D051178:alpha Catenin; D051176:beta Catenin