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Abstract
Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a cell surface protein that was discovered as a tumour marker of epithelial origins nearly four decades ago. EpCAM is expressed at basal levels in the basolateral membrane of normal epithelial cells. However, EpCAM expression is upregulated in solid epithelial cancers and stem cells. EpCAM can also be found in disseminated tumour cells and circulating tumour cells. Various OMICs studies have demonstrated that EpCAM plays roles in several key biological processes such as cell adhesion, migration, proliferation and differentiation. Additionally, EpCAM can be detected in the bodily fluid of cancer patients suggesting that EpCAM is a pathophysiologically relevant anti-tumour target as well as being utilized as a diagnostic/prognostic agent for a variety of cancers. This review will focus on the structure-features of EpCAM protein and discuss recent evidence on the pathological and physiological roles of EpCAM in modulating cell adhesion and signalling pathways in cancers as well as deliberating the clinical implication of EpCAM as a therapeutic target.
Highlights
Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a type-1 transmembrane glycoprotein that was first discovered 40 years ago from monoclonal antibody screening against antigens derived from colorectal cancer cells [1]
We focus on the structural features of the EpCAM gene and protein as well as its post-translational modifications and relate them in the context of cancer
EpCAM-specific monoclonal antibody edrecolomab for instance, while it showed good efficacy in early clinical trials, its benefits could not be replicated in larger clinical trials in treating patients with colon cancer [123,124]
Summary
Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a type-1 transmembrane glycoprotein that was first discovered 40 years ago from monoclonal antibody screening against antigens derived from colorectal cancer cells [1]. Many studies have further corroborated that EpCAM is an immunogenic molecule that can be targeted by monoclonal antibodies especially in cancers. EpCAM has been studied in a wide-variety of human carcinomas and normal epithelial tissues and it is considered to be the most studied tumour-associated antigen [4]. Numerous therapeutic strategies have been developed to target EpCAM and several of them are currently undergoing clinical trials [4,6,7]. We will discuss the current updates on the roles of EpCAM especially in cell adhesion, cell signalling and additional insights on EpCAM functions in the cancer-related landscape
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