Pittella F, Katsube K, Takemura T, Hashimoto T, Kawano T, Garrod D, Takagi M
Division of Molecular Pathology, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan.
Pathol Res Pract. 2001;197(2):85-91. doi: 10.1078/0344-0338-00014.
The desmosomal glycoproteins desmoglein (Dsg) and desmocollin (Dsc) are members of the cadherin family of cell adhesion molecules. They play an important role in epithelial adhesion. To observe the distribution pattern of Dsg in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), immunohistochemical and immunoelectron microscopic analyses were performed. Immunohistochemically, normal esophageal squamous cells strongly expressed Dsg at the cell-cell boundaries, while moderately differentiated esophageal SCC cells showed a perinuclear distribution in addition to the cell boundary staining. At the ultrastructural level, the reaction product was concentrated at the desmosomes in the cell membrane region of normal epithelial cells, but was reduced at the membrane and found throughout the cytoplasm as well as in the surrounding outer nuclear envelope in SCC cells. These results demonstrate an aberrant distribution of Dsg in SCC cells. This may have important consequences for invasion and metastasis, as it may indicate loosened intercellular adhesion.
桥粒糖蛋白桥粒芯糖蛋白（Dsg）和桥粒胶蛋白（Dsc）是细胞黏附分子钙黏蛋白家族的成员。它们在上皮黏附中发挥重要作用。为了观察Dsg在食管鳞状细胞癌（SCC）中的分布模式，进行了免疫组织化学和免疫电子显微镜分析。免疫组织化学显示，正常食管鳞状细胞在细胞 - 细胞边界强烈表达Dsg，而中度分化的食管SCC细胞除细胞边界染色外还显示核周分布。在超微结构水平上，反应产物集中在正常上皮细胞膜区域的桥粒处，但在SCC细胞膜处减少，并在整个细胞质以及周围的核外膜中均有发现。这些结果表明Dsg在SCC细胞中分布异常。这可能对侵袭和转移具有重要影响，因为它可能表明细胞间黏附减弱。
