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Induction of Invasive Transitional Cell Bladder Carcinoma in Immune Intact Human MUC1 Transgenic Mice: A Model for Immunotherapy Development
Published on: October 30, 2013
Cadherin switching and bladder cancer
Richard T Bryan1, Chris Tselepis
1School of Cancer Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom. r.r.bryan@bham.ac.uk
The Journal of Urology
|July 13, 2010
Summary
Cadherin switching, a change in cell adhesion molecules, promotes muscle invasive bladder cancer. Understanding this process may reveal targets for preventing disease progression.
Area of Science:
- Cell adhesion biology
- Molecular pathogenesis of cancer
Background:
- Bladder cancer progression to muscle invasiveness is critical, leading to worse survival.
- Decreased E-cadherin and increased N-cadherin/P-cadherin expression (cadherin switching) correlates with advanced bladder cancer.
- Cadherin switching may be a key step in bladder cancer invasion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce cadherin-mediated cell adhesion concepts.
- To describe cadherin switching in bladder cancer.
- To highlight its role in disease progression.
Main Methods:
- Literature review using PubMed.
- Focused on cadherin biology and expression in bladder cancer.
Main Results:
- Cadherin switching promotes a more malignant and invasive phenotype in bladder cancer.
- Bladder cancer exhibits a switch to N-cadherin and P-cadherin.
- The precise timing, nature, and signaling pathways of this switch are not fully understood.
Conclusions:
- Cadherin switching is a late-stage molecular event in bladder cancer pathogenesis.
- It may explain the development of muscle-invasive and metastatic disease.
- Cadherins are potential targets for preventing bladder cancer progression.
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