J. Vanaken et al., IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF E-CADHERIN EXPRESSION IN HUMAN COLORECTAL TUMORS, Pathology research and practice, 189(9), 1993, pp. 975-978
The homotypic homophilic cell-cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin is cru
cial in the organization and maintenance of most epithelia. The expres
sion of E-cadherin was studied immunohistochemically in various human
colorectal tumours. Therefore we stained 1 tubular adenoma with low gr
ade dysplasia, 18 adenocarcinomas with different histologic degrees of
differentiation and invasion, and 1 metastasis using a modified perox
idase-anti-peroxidase technique. In the adenoma as well as in all well
differentiated adenocarcinomas we found E-cadherin immunopositivity a
t the cell membrane of almost all cancer cells. The immunopositivity o
f E-cadherin was clearly weaker and sometimes even absent in isolated
neoplastic cells and glands of less differentiated adenocarcinomas. Th
e moderately differentiated adenocarcinomas showed an intermediate sta
ining pattern. These findings are in line with experimental evidence t
hat downregulation of E-cadherin favours invasion, eventually leading
to metastasis.