Abstract 2320: N-cadherin down-regulation has antitumor effects in esophageal cancer

Abstract

Abstract Tumor microenviroment plays a critical role for cancer and their malignancy. Dynamic changes in tumor microenvironment have been observed in many tumors including esophageal cancer. And during the drastic change, some of tumor cells show EMT (epithelial mesenchymal transition) which means that epithelial cells lose their epithelial feature and acquire mesenchymal properties, as invasiveness and also communication with other kinds of mesenchymal cells. During those change, one of the marker of epithelial feature, E-cadherin is switch to N-cadherin, it has been known as “cadherin switch”. And it is thought that those changes have relations with cancer malignancy. Previously we reported that esophageal cancer cells secrete TGF-b1 and activate mesenchymal fibroblasts, and those activated fibroblasts guided more endothelial cells into tumor and induced angiogenesis. In the other hand, we hypothesis cell-cell direct communication like cell-cell contact is also important role for cancer progression. So in this report, firstly we analyze the expression of cadherins in surgical specimens in immunohistochemistry and determined expression patterns of N-cadherin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and Barrett's adenocarinoma. Some of those cancers showed N-cadherin expression and specifically expressed in their invasive front. Secondary we analyzed cancer cell lines as well, TE-1, TE-4, TE-10, OE19 and OE33. Those cell lines are squamous cell carcinoma cell lines and Barrett's adenocarcinoma cell lines, and those showed expression of E-cadherin and some of them showed expression of N-cadherin. And we used those cell lines and explored the behavioral differentiations of each cell lines. Here, we report and show analysis of E- or N- cadherin expression in surgical specimens and cancer cell lines. And also we could show the potential of regulation of cadherins in esophageal cancer as a new therapeutic target, which is well recognized as one of the most aggressive malignancies in the world. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2320.