The world's first wiki where authorship really matters (Nature Genetics, 2008). Due credit and reputation for authors. Imagine a global collaborative knowledge base for original thoughts. Search thousands of articles and collaborate with scientists around the globe.

wikigene or wiki gene protein drug chemical gene disease author authorship tracking collaborative publishing evolutionary knowledge reputation system wiki2.0 global collaboration genes proteins drugs chemicals diseases compound
Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)
 
 
 
 
 
 

L-CAM expression induces fibroblast-epidermoid transition in squamous carcinoma cells and down-regulates the endogenous N-cadherin.

SCC9 cells, derived from a squamous carcinoma of the tongue, were shown to lack E-cadherin but express alpha- and beta-catenins and N-cadherin. These cells also lack plakoglobin expression, do not assemble desmosomes and exhibit the typical morphology and growth properties of transformed cells. The N-cadherin expressed in SCC9 cells has properties similar to other classical cadherins, including interactions with the catenins. We transfected SCC9 cells with a full-length cDNA for L-CAM (liver cell adhesion molecule), the functional chicken homologue of E-cadherin. The exogenously expressed L-CAM formed complexes with catenins and the cytoskeleton and induced a morphological transition from fibroblastoid to epithelioid, conferred density-dependent growth inhibition, increased aggregation ability, and increased synthesis and stability of alpha- and beta-catenins. Coincident with these phenotypic changes, we detected a significant reduction in the level of endogenous N-cadherin, primarily as a result of rapid degradation of this protein in L-CAM-expressing cells. These results show the abnormal expression of N-cadherin in these transformed epidermoid cells, demonstrate the dynamics of the relationship between two cadherins, and provide a model system for the functional analysis of the tumor suppressor activity of E-cadherin in carcinomas.[1]

References

 
WikiGenes - Universities