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Updated: Oct 17, 2026

Bead Aggregation Assays for the Characterization of Putative Cell Adhesion Molecules
Published on: October 17, 2014
Coordinate recruitment of E-cadherin and ALCAM to cell-cell contacts by alpha-catenin
K Tomita1, A van Bokhoven, C F Jansen
1Urology Research Laboratory, University Hospital Nijmegen, Nijmegen, 6500 HB, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Here we report on the role of alpha-catenin in the cellular localization of activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule, ALCAM, and cadherin-mediated cell adhesion in human prostate cancer cells. Cell lines that have a functional E-cadherin-mediated cell adhesion (DU-145 and LNCaP) show ALCAM staining at cell-cell contacts. In contrast, in cell lines that lack alpha-catenin expression (ALVA-31, PC-3, and PPC-1), E-cadherin-mediated adhesion is disturbed and ALCAM staining is cytoplasmic. A role of alpha-catenin in the recruitment of E-cadherin and ALCAM to cell-cell contacts was established by transfection of an alpha-N-catenin construct into cell lines ALVA-31 and PC-3. This resulted not only in the correct assembly of E-cadherin/alpha-catenin complexes at the cell membrane but also in localization of ALCAM to cell-cell contacts, indicating that indeed alpha-catenin affects ALCAM localization.
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