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Updated: May 1, 2026

Differentiation of Mouse Breast Epithelial HC11 and EpH4 Cells
Published on: February 27, 2020
Cadherin-11 regulates both mesenchymal stem cell differentiation into smooth muscle cells and the development of
Stella Alimperti1, Hui You1, Teresa George2
1Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Amherst, NY 14260-4200, USA.
Abstract:
Although soluble factors, such as transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), induce mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) differentiation towards the smooth muscle cell (SMC) lineage, the role of adherens junctions in this process is not well understood. In this study, we found that cadherin-11 but not cadherin-2 was necessary for MSC differentiation into SMCs. Cadherin-11 regulated the expression of TGF-β1 and affected SMC differentiation through a pathway that was dependent on TGF-β receptor II (TGFβRII) but independent of SMAD2 or SMAD3. In addition, cadherin-11 activated the expression of serum response factor (SRF) and SMC proteins through the Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) pathway. Engagement of cadherin-11 increased its own expression through SRF, indicative of the presence of an autoregulatory feedback loop that committed MSCs to the SMC fate. Notably, SMC-containing tissues (such as aorta and bladder) from cadherin-11-null (Cdh11(-/-)) mice showed significantly reduced levels of SMC proteins and exhibited diminished contractility compared with controls. This is the first report implicating cadherin-11 in SMC differentiation and contractile function in vitro as well as in vivo.
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