title: Role of complex cadherins in cell-cell adhesion evaluated by spheroid formation in renal cell carcinoma cell lines.
abstract: We have previously shown that renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell lines expressed a complex set of cadherins, e.g. E-cadherin, N-cadherin and cadherin-6. It is also reported that E-cadherin and cadherin-6 have a predictive value for estimating a patient's prognosis in RCC. However, E-cadherin is infrequently expressed in RCC as compared with N-cadherin and cadherin-6. In the present study, therefore, we performed a functional analysis of these cadherins as a cell adhesion molecule using spheroid culturing and spheroid-blocking assay. In E-cadherin expressers, compact spheroid formation was observed, and it was inhibited by anti-E-cadherin antibody. In contrast, in E-cadherin-absent lines, cadherin-6 apparently played a role to form relatively loose spheroids and this spheroid formation was inhibited by anti-cadherin-6 antibody. In both spheroids, the anti-N-cadherin antibody could not inhibit their formation, suggesting that N-cadherin was not an essential molecule for spheroid formation in the cell lines expressing complex cadherins. The anti-N-cadherin antibody inhibited spheroid formation only in the cell line that expressed N-cadherin alone. Using western blot analysis, immunohistochemistry and immunoprecipitation, these cadherins were linked to catenins to make a functional adhesion molecule. In conclusion, E-cadherin and cadherin-6 are shown to act in cell-cell adhesion whereas N-cadherin might play a somewhat different role from cell-cell adhesion in RCC cell lines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan. torushim@md.tsukuba.ac.jp
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimazui
authors.forename: Jack A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Schalken
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.forename: Risa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kawamoto
authors.forename: Adrie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Bockhoven
authors.forename: Egbert
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oosterwijk
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akaza
mesh_terms: D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins