title: Effects of T-cadherin expression on B16F10 melanoma cells.
abstract: Melanoma is one of the most deadly skin cancers. T-cadherin is an atypical member of the cadherin superfamily as it lacks the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains and is anchored to cell membranes through glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors. T-cadherin downregulation is associated with a poorer prognosis in various carcinomas, such as lung, ovarian, cervical and prostate cancer, while in the majority of cancer cell lines, T-cadherin re-expression inhibits cell proliferation and invasiveness, increases susceptibility in apoptosis and reduces tumor growth inin vivomodels. The functional relevance of T-cadherin gene expression in melanoma progression remains to be clarified. The present study was designed for this purpose. The T-cadherin gene was transfected into B16F10 melanoma cells to express T-cadherin in the cells which were originally deficient in T-cadherin expression. The proliferation, invasiveness, apoptosis and cell cycle of the transfected B16F10 melanoma cells were analyzed. The present study showed that the expression of T-cadherin in B16F10 melanoma cells markedly reduced cell proliferation and permeation through Matrigel-coated membranes, representing invasiveness. The percentage of early apoptotic cells and cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle was markedly increased compared with either parental B16F10 (without transfection) or empty pEGFP-N1 (without T-cadherin gene)-transfected B16F10 cells, suggesting G2/M arrest, with similarity between the parental and empty pEGFP-N1-transfected B16F10 cells. T-cadherin is important in melanoma progression and may be a possible target for therapy in melanoma and certain other types of cancer.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Dermatology, The Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College, Chengde, Hebei 067000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xin-Suo
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Zhi-Hua
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: En-Hong
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Hai-Tao
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Li-Xin
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Sun
keywords: T-cadherin; apoptosis; invasiveness; melanoma; proliferation