E-cadherin's dark side: Possible role in tumor progression |
| |
Authors: | Fausto J. Rodriguez Laura J. Lewis-Tuffin Panos Z. Anastasiadis |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Department of Pathology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA;2. Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic, 4500 San Pablo Road S, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA |
| |
Abstract: | In the context of cancer, E-cadherin has traditionally been categorized as a tumor suppressor, given its essential role in the formation of proper intercellular junctions, and its downregulation in the process of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in epithelial tumor progression. Germline or somatic mutations in the E-cadherin gene (CDH1) or downregulation by epigenetic mechanisms have been described in a small subset of epithelial cancers. However, recent evidence also points toward a promoting role of E-cadherin in several aspects of tumor progression. This includes preserved (or increased) E-cadherin expression in microemboli of inflammatory breast carcinoma, a possible “mesenchymal to epithelial transition” (MET) in ovarian carcinoma, collective cell invasion in some epithelial cancers, a recent association of E-cadherin expression with a more aggressive brain tumor subset, as well as the intriguing possibility of E-cadherin involvement in specific signaling networks in the cytoplasm and/or nucleus. In this review we address a lesser-known, positive role for E-cadherin in cancer. |
| |
Keywords: | E-cadherin Epithelial&ndash mesenchymal transition Mesenchymal&ndash epithelial transition Oncogene Tumorigenesis Adherens junctions |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|