Breier Georg, Grosser Marianne, Rezaei Maryam
Institute of Pathology, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstr. 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany,
Cell Tissue Res. 2014 Mar;355(3):523-7. doi: 10.1007/s00441-014-1851-7. Epub 2014 Mar 12.
Cadherins are cell adhesion receptors that play important roles in embryogenesis and tissue homoeostasis. Endothelial cells express various members of the cadherin superfamily, in particular vascular endothelial (VE-) cadherin, which is the main adhesion receptor of endothelial adherens junctions and neural (N-) cadherin, which is normally localized outside the junctions and may mediate adhesion between endothelial cells and non-endothelial cells. Dysregulation of cadherin expression has been implicated in tumor progression, in particular the loss of epithelial (E-) cadherin expression or function and the gain of N-cadherin. Moreover, more recently, aberrant expression of VE-cadherin was observed in certain cancer types. In breast carcinoma, VE-cadherin was shown to promote tumor cell proliferation and invasion through enhancing TGF-β signaling. Thus, in breast cancer, the cadherin switch involves another player, vascular endothelial cadherin, which is part of an intricate interplay of classical cadherins in breast cancer progression.
钙黏蛋白是细胞黏附受体，在胚胎发育和组织稳态中发挥重要作用。内皮细胞表达钙黏蛋白超家族的各种成员，特别是血管内皮（VE）-钙黏蛋白，它是内皮黏附连接的主要黏附受体，以及神经（N）-钙黏蛋白，其通常定位于连接之外，可能介导内皮细胞与非内皮细胞之间的黏附。钙黏蛋白表达失调与肿瘤进展有关，特别是上皮（E）-钙黏蛋白表达或功能的丧失以及N-钙黏蛋白的增加。此外，最近在某些癌症类型中观察到VE-钙黏蛋白的异常表达。在乳腺癌中，VE-钙黏蛋白被证明通过增强TGF-β信号促进肿瘤细胞增殖和侵袭。因此，在乳腺癌中，钙黏蛋白转换涉及另一个参与者——血管内皮钙黏蛋白，它是乳腺癌进展中经典钙黏蛋白复杂相互作用的一部分。
