Expression of CD44 variant proteins in human colorectal cancer is related to tumor progression.

Specific CD44 variant glycoproteins are overexpressed at particular stages of colorectal tumor progression. Some variants of the CD44 glycoprotein without exon v6 sequences appear at the earliest stage of tumorigenesis, i.e., in early adenomas. Expression of variants containing exon v6 sequences is largely restricted to the advanced stages of tumor development and in addition is more prevalent and intense in metastatic (Dukes C/D) than in nonmetastatic (Dukes A/B) carcinomas. The observation that CD44 variants containing a protein domain of CD44 that confers full metastatic potential to rat carcinoma and sarcoma cell lines is increasingly expressed during colorectal tumor progression indicates that this domain may have an important role in tumor progression and metastasis in humans. Information on v6 expression, which can be obtained by routine immunohistochemistry, may prove of important prognostic value, particularly in carcinomas (Dukes A and B) that have not yet given rise to detectable metastases.

[1]  Martin Hofmann,et al.  A new variant of glycoprotein CD44 confers metastatic potential to rat carcinoma cells , 1991, Cell.

[2]  P. Herrlich,et al.  A human homologue of the rat metastasis-associated variant of CD44 is expressed in colorectal carcinomas and adenomatous polyps , 1993, The Journal of cell biology.

[3]  J. Bell,et al.  Genomic structure of DNA encoding the lymphocyte homing receptor CD44 reveals at least 12 alternatively spliced exons. , 1992, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[4]  C. Dukes.  The classification of cancer of the rectum , 1980 .

[5]  B. Vogelstein,et al.  A genetic model for colorectal tumorigenesis , 1990, Cell.

[6]  L. Ellis,et al.  Expression of CD44R1 adhesion molecule in colon carcinomas and metastases , 1993, The Lancet.

[7]  P. Herrlich,et al.  Activated human lymphocytes and aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas express a homologue of the rat metastasis-associated variant of CD44 , 1993, The Journal of experimental medicine.

[8]  P. Herrlich,et al.  Participation in normal immune responses of a metastasis-inducing splice variant of CD44. , 1992, Science.

[9]  D. Tarin,et al.  Significance of CD44 gene products for cancer diagnosis and disease evaluation , 1992, The Lancet.

[10]  R. Wilson,et al.  Molecular aspects of the metastatic cascade. , 1989, Biochimica et biophysica acta.

[11]  Brian Seed,et al.  A lymphocyte molecule implicated in lymph node homing is a member of the cartilage link protein family , 1989, Cell.