CD148 is a transmembrane tyrosine phosphatase that is expressed at cell junctions. Recent studies have shown that CD148 associates with the cadherin/catenin complex and p120 catenin (p120) may serve as a substrate. However, the role of CD148 in cadherin cell-cell adhesion remains unknown. Therefore, here we addressed this issue using a series of stable cells and cell-based assays. Wild-type (WT...

Treatment of Xenopus animal pole tissue with activin results in the induction of mesodermal cell types and a dramatic elongation of the tissue. The morphogenetic movements involved in the elongation appear similar to those in normal gastrulation, which is driven by cell rearrangement and cell intercalations. We have used this system to explore the potential regulation of cell-cell adhesion and ...

Vascular endothelial-cadherin (VE-cadherin) plays a key role in angiogenesis and in vascular permeability. The regulation of its biological activity may be a central mechanism in normal or pathological angiogenesis. VE-cadherin has been shown to be phosphorylated on tyrosine in vitro under various conditions, including stimulation by VEGF. In the present study, we addressed the question of the ...

Inflammatory stimuli result in vascular leakage with potentially life threatening consequences. As a key barrier component, loss of vascular endothelial (VE-) cadherin-mediated adhesion often precedes endothelial breakdown. This study aimed to stabilize VE-cadherin transinteraction and endothelial barrier function using peptides targeting the VE-cadherin adhesive interface. After modelling the ...

E-cadherin gene is often termed a "metastasis suppressor" gene because the E-cadherin protein can suppress tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Inactivation of the E-cadherin gene occurs in undifferentiated solid tumors by both genetic and epigenetic mechanisms; however, the role of E-cadherin in hematologic malignancies is only now being recognized. E-cadherin expression is essential for erythr...

E-Cadherin is a transmembrane glycoprotein that mediates Ca2+-dependent intercellular adhesion in normal epithelium. In tumors of epithelial origin, E-cadherin expression frequently is reduced, an event that contributes to tumor invasion and metastasis. The role of E-cadherin in hematopoietic tissues is less clear. In normal bone marrow, E-cadherin is expressed on erythroid progenitors, CD34+ s...

Members of the cadherin family have been implicated as growth regulators in multiple tumor types. Based on recent studies from our laboratory implicating T-cadherin expression in mouse brain tumorigenesis, we examined the role of T-cadherin in astrocytoma growth regulation. In this report, we show that T-cadherin expression increased during primary astrocyte physiologic growth arrest in respons...

Indirect evidence suggests that p120-catenin (p120) can both positively and negatively affect cadherin adhesiveness. Here we show that the p120 gene is mutated in SW48 cells, and that the cadherin adhesion system is impaired as a direct consequence of p120 insufficiency. Restoring normal levels of p120 caused a striking reversion from poorly differentiated to cobblestone-like epithelial morphol...

We examined intercadherin interactions in epithelial A-431 cells producing endogenous E-cadherin and recombinant forms of E-cadherin tagged either by myc or by flag epitopes. Three distinct E-cadherin complexes were found. The first is a conventional E-cadherin-catenin complex consisting of one E-cadherin molecule linked either to beta-catenin/alpha-catenin or to plakoglobin/alpha-catenin dimer...

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive malignant diseases. We recently reported that N-cadherin plays a key role in tumor progression and metastasis in pancreatic cancer. For this study, we sought to determine if an N-cadherin-blocking peptide (ADH-1) could prevent N-cadherin-mediated tumor progression in a mouse model for pancreatic cancer. The effect of ADH-1 on N-cadherin-mediated c...