title: Delta-catenin promotes the proliferation and invasion of colorectal cancer cells by binding to E-cadherin in a competitive manner with p120 catenin.
abstract: δ-Catenin is the only member of the p120 catenin (p120ctn) subfamily whose normal pattern of expression is restricted to the brain. Similar to p120ctn, δ-catenin can bind to the juxtamembrane domain of E-cadherin. We examined the expression of δ-catenin, p120ctn, and E-cadherin using immunohistochemistry in 95 cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) and 15 normal colon tissues. Co-immunoprecipitation was used to examine whether δ-catenin competed with p120ctn to bind E-cadherin in CRC cells. The effects of δ-catenin overexpression or siRNA-mediated knockdown on the proliferation and invasive ability of CRC cells were investigated using the MTT and Matrigel invasion assays. The results showed that positive δ-catenin expression was significantly more frequent in CRC compared to normal colon tissues and associated with poor differentiation, stage III-IV disease, and lymph node metastasis in CRC (all P < 0.05). In two CRC cell lines, δ-catenin bound to E-cadherin in competition with p120ctn. Overexpression of δ-catenin promoted the proliferation and invasion of CRC cells; knockdown of δ-catenin reduced CRC cell proliferation and invasion. In conclusion, we speculate that overexpression of δ-catenin reduces the expression of E-cadherin and alters the balance between E-cadherin and p120ctn, which in turn affects the formation of intercellular adhesions and promotes invasion and metastasis in CRC.
authors: Department of Colorectal Surgery, Shengjing Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China, zhanghong_cmu@yahoo.com.cn.
authors: Hong
authors: H
authors: Zhang
authors: Shun-Dong
authors: SD
authors: Dai
authors: Di
authors: D
authors: Zhang
authors: Dong
authors: D
authors: Liu
authors: Fang-Yuan
authors: FY
authors: Zhang
authors: Tian-Yi
authors: TY
authors: Zheng
authors: Ming-Ming
authors: MM
authors: Cui
authors: Chao-Liu
authors: CL
authors: Dai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051177:Catenins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000235:genetics; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D011485:Protein Binding; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D000095002:Delta Catenin
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins; D051177:Catenins; D000095002:Delta Catenin; C000722347:CTNND1 protein, human