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Ultrastructural localization of E‐cadherin and α‐/β‐catenin in adenoid cystic carcinoma
Author(s) -
Yasuyuki Shibuya,
Shinshou Ri,
Masahiro Umeda,
Tomohiro Yoshikawa,
Hiroshi Masago,
Takahide Komori
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
histopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.626
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1365-2559
pISSN - 0309-0167
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2559.1999.035005423.x
Subject(s) - cadherin , ultrastructure , pathology , adenoid cystic carcinoma , biology , cytoplasm , catenin , extracellular , extracellular matrix , cribriform , intracellular , anatomy , carcinoma , cell , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , wnt signaling pathway , signal transduction , genetics
Aims To investigate the disturbance of intercellular adhesion in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), we examined the ultrastructural localization of E‐cadherin (E‐cad), α‐catenin (α‐cat) and β‐catenin (β‐cat) in ACC, and compared it with that in the normal labial gland. Methods and results Using immuno‐electron microscopy, in the normal labial gland, E‐cad was found to be uniformly distributed along the plasmalemma, where cells were in close contact with each other, with junctional complexes, desmosomes and interdigitations; expression of α‐cat and β‐cat was also detected. In ACC, which was classified into tubular, cribriform and trabecular types, E‐cad expression seemed not to be uniform, but was observed to be along the plasmalemma where cell‐to‐cell contact was made. On the other hand, expression of α‐cat or β‐cat was uneven in the trabecular‐type cells which were very slender and grew in an infiltrative scattered pattern into the extracellular matrix; that was absent in the cribriform‐type cells which made contact with each other mostly at the tip of the cytoplasmic processes. Conclusion These findings suggest that the neoplastic cells of ACC express E‐cad for use in intercellular adhesion, but the cadherin–catenin complex might not operate properly, which is the cause of neoplastic cell dissociation, followed by invasion and metastasis.