CD44 modulates Hs578T human breast cancer cell adhesion, migration, and invasiveness

CD44 is an adhesion molecule that has been implicated in tumor progression of epithelial and nonepithelial tumors. One of its variants, CD44v6, is involved in the production of experimental metastasis. Previous reports have indicated that in human breast cancer the overexpression of CD44, and moreover the presence of CD44v6, correlated with poor prognosis. This study focuses on the role of these molecules in in vitro invasion of breast cancer cells. The effect of antibodies against all CD44 isoforms and CD44v6 was evaluated in different in vitro experimental assays that are closely related to tumor cell invasion in vivo: adhesion to hyaluronan and purified extracellular matrix components; cell motility; haptotaxis; and invasion of purified extracellular matrix components. The highly metastatic human breast cancer cell line Hs578T was used in all assays. Our results show that both antibodies have a blocking effect on cell migration, on haptotatic migration, on in vitro invasion, and on adhesion to hyaluronan and purified extracellular matrix components. In conclusion, our data show that, in addition to its participation in adhesion to components of the extracellular matrix, CD44v6 is involved in the motility and in invasion of tumoral cells.