title: Atypical E-cadherin expression in cell clusters overlying focally disrupted mammary myoepithelial cell layers: implications for tumor cell motility and invasion.
abstract: Our recent studies showed that cell clusters overlying focal myoepithelial cell layer disruptions (FMCLD) had a significantly higher rate of ER negativity, genetic instabilities, and expression of invasion-related genes than adjacent cells within the same duct. This study attempted to determine if these cells would show aberrant E-cadherin expression, which imparts greater propensity for cell motility and invasion. Consecutive sections from breast tumors with a high frequency of FMCLD were double-immunostained for E-cadherin and a panel of related markers. The E-cadherin mRNA levels in cells overlying FMCLD and adjacent cells within the same duct were compared using real-time PCR. Nearly all the cell clusters overlying FMCLD were strongly immunoreactive for E-cadherin, whereas their adjacent counterparts within the same duct were largely negative. Cell clusters overlying FMCLD were generally arranged as tongue-like projections, "puncturing" deep into the stroma or tube-like structures that often contained red blood cells. The sub-cellular localization of E-cadherin in the above structures, however, was primarily cytoplasmic. The mRNA level of E-cadherin in cell clusters overlying FMCLD was significantly higher than that in adjacent cells within the same duct. These findings suggest that aberrant expression of E-cadherin may contribute to cell motility and invasion.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
authors.forename: Xichen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shahreyar Shar
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hashemi
authors.forename: Morvarid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yousefi
authors.forename: Chunling
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Joy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.forename: Jinsong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Wan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mason
authors.forename: Yan-Gao
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Man
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015820:Cadherins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002278:Carcinoma in Situ; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002465:Cell Movement; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D032342:Muscle Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins