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Homo- and Heterotypic Cell Contacts in Malignant Melanoma Cells and Desmoglein 2 as a Novel Solitary Surface Glycoprotein
- Source :
- Journal of Investigative Dermatology. (9):2191-2206
- Publisher :
- The Society for Investigative Dermatology, Inc.
-
Abstract
- During progression of melanomas, a crucial role has been attributed to alterations of cell-cell adhesions, specifically, to a "cadherin switch" from E- to N-cadherin (cad). We have examined the adhesion of melanoma cells to each other and to keratinocytes. When different human melanoma cell lines were studied by protein analysis and immunofluorescence microscopy, six of eight lines contained N-cad, three E-cad, and five P-cad, and some lines had more than one cad. Surprisingly, two N-cad-positive lines, MeWo and C32, also contained desmoglein 2 (Dsg2), a desmosomal cad previously not reported for melanomas, whereas other desmosome-specific proteins were absent. This finding was confirmed by reverse transcriptase-PCR, immunoprecipitation, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight analyses. Double-label confocal and immunoelectron microscopy showed N-cad, alpha- and beta-catenin in plaque-bearing puncta adhaerentia, whereas Dsg2 was distributed rather diffusely over the cell surface. In cocultures with HaCaT keratinocytes Dsg2 was found in heterotypic cell contact regions. Correspondingly, immunohistochemistry revealed Dsg2 in five of 10 melanoma metastases. Together, we show that melanoma cell adhesions are more heterogeneous than expected and that certain cells devoid of desmosomes contain Dsg2 in a non-junction-restricted form. Future studies will have to clarify the diagnostic and prognostic significance of these different adhesion protein subtypes.
- Subjects :
- Keratinocytes
Pathology
medicine.medical_specialty
Skin Neoplasms
Immunoelectron microscopy
Cell
Desmoglein-2
Cell Communication
Dermatology
Biology
Biochemistry
Desmoglein
Cell Line, Tumor
Cell Adhesion
medicine
Humans
Cell adhesion
Melanoma
Molecular Biology
Desmocollins
Desmoglein 2
Cadherin
Catenins
Cell Biology
Cadherins
medicine.disease
Molecular biology
medicine.anatomical_structure
Microscopy, Fluorescence
Puncta adhaerentia
Epidermis
Desmogleins
Plakophilins
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0022202X
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Investigative Dermatology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....a9827144e9fd01e76698e756d0e4aebe
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jid.5700849