Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Bead Aggregation Assays for the Characterization of Putative Cell Adhesion Molecules
Published on: October 17, 2014
Le(x) glycan mediates homotypic adhesion of embryonal cells independently from E-cadherin: a preliminary note
Kazuko Handa1, Tomoka Takatani-Nakase, Lionel Larue
1Division of Biomembrane Research, Pacific Northwest Research Institute, Department of Pathobiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98122, USA. khanda@pnri.org
Abstract:
Le(x) glycan and E-cadherin (Ecad) are co-expressed at embryonal stem (ES) cells and embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells. While the structure and function of Ecad mediating homotypic adhesion of these cells have been well established, evidence that Le(x) glycan also mediates such adhesion is weak, despite the fact that Le(x) oligosaccharide inhibits the compaction process. To provide stronger evidence, we knocked out Ecad gene in EC and ES cells to establish F9 Ecad (-/-) and D3M Ecad (-/-) cells, which highly express Le(x) glycan but do not express Ecad at all. Both F9 Ecad (-/-) and D3M Ecad (-/-) cells displayed strong autoaggregation in the presence of Ca(2+), while PYS-2 cells, which express trace amount of Ecad and undetectable level of Le(x) glycan, did not display autoaggregation. In addition, F9 Ecad (-/-) and D3M Ecad (-/-) cells displayed strong adhesion to plates coated with Le(x) glycosphingolipid (III(3)FucnLc4Cer), in dose-dependent manner, in the presence of Ca(2+). Thus, ES or EC cells display autoaggregation and strong adhesion to Le(x)-coated plates in the absence of Ecad, further supporting the notion of Le(x) self-recognition (i.e., Le(x)-to-Le(x) interaction) in cell adhesion.
Related Concept Videos
Cadherins in Tissue Organization
Cell Sorting During Development
Cell sorting plays an...
Structure of Cadherins
Immunoglobulin-like Cell Adhesion Molecules
Ig-CAMs exhibit either homophilic binding (to other Ig-CAMs) or heterophilic binding (to other ligands such as integrins). While most Ig-CAMs...
Adherens Junctions
Adherens Junctions are Dynamic
The endothelial cells...
Anchoring Junctions
Cell Adhesion Molecules - Types and Functions
CAM Families
The Integrin family of proteins is primarily involved in a...
