Cell adhesion molecules are thought to have an important role in neoplastic progression as they are likely to be involved in the multiple steps of the metastatic cascade. We have focused on two adhesion molecules, E-cadherin and CD44, looking for changes in their expression in human colon cancer. The intercellular adhesion mediated by E-cadherin has been shown to be altered in cancer. We have investigated the expression of E-cadherin in normal and tumorigenic colorectal mucosa by immunohistochemistry. Tumor samples showed a down-regulation of expression correlating with the degree of tumor dedifferentiation. The second adhesion molecule, CD44, has been previously associated with metastasis in animal models. We have shown by Northern blotting that mRNA splice variants with domains IV + V are specifically over expressed in carcinomas. Immunohistochemistry showed redistribution of CD44 to the cellular basal membrane. Thus, the aberrant expression of E-cadherin and CD44 could be associated with malignant progression in colorectal cancer.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.57005 |
| Date | January 1993 |
| Creators | McClure, Diane |
| Contributors | Jothy, S. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Pathology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001327789, proquestno: AAIMM87756, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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