Identification of the cadherin subtypes present in the human peritoneum and endometriotic lesions: Potential role for P‐cadherin in the development of endometriosis

Abstract

Endometriosis is defined as endometrial tissue outside of the uterine cavity. The pathogenesis of this common disease remains poorly understood. However, the implantation and invasion of the viable cells from retrograde menstruation into the peritoneum is a widely accepted theory. To date, the mechanisms by which cell adhesion molecules mediate the development of human endometriosis remain unclear. Cadherins are a family of cell adhesion molecules that mediate cell-cell adhesion in a homophilic manner. In this study, the cadherins present in the peritoneum and endometriotic lesions were identified by RT-PCR using degenerate primers. In addition, differences in the levels of the cadherin mRNA transcripts present in eutopic endometrium and endometriotic lesions of the same patients were then compared by semiquantitative RT-PCR. Multiple cadherins were detected in the peritoneum and endometriotic lesions. Of these, P-cadherin appears to be the predominant cadherin subtype present in the peritoneum. Similarly, P-cadherin mRNA levels in endometriotic lesions were significantly greater than those observed in the corresponding eutopic endometrium. The expression of P-cadherin in both the human peritoneum and endometriotic lesions suggests that this cell adhesion molecule may play a central role in the development of endometriosis by mediating endometrial-peritoneal cell interactions in a homophilic manner.

P-cadherin cooperates with insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor to promote metastatic signaling of gonadotropin-releasing hormone in ovarian cancer via p120 catenin

“…In support of this contention, P-cadherin is described as the predominant form of cadherin expressed by normal peritoneum (Chen et al, 2002). Moreover, unlike most malignant tumors (for example, breast, lung and colon cancer), ovarian cancer metastasizes primarily by direct seeding in the peritoneal cavity rather than through the circulation.…”

Cadherin switching and activation of p120 catenin signaling are mediators of gonadotropin-releasing hormone to promote tumor cell migration and invasion in ovarian cancer

“…Successful adhesion to the peritoneum is an important first step in ovarian cancer metastasis. P-cadherin has been shown to be the predominant form of cadherin expressed by normal peritoneum (Chen et al, 2002), suggesting that it can actively participate in this process. Moreover, intimate cell-cell contacts may also facilitate juxtacrine ligand and receptor interactions, for example Jagged and Notch, which have shown to focally support the growth and invasion of cancer cells within the peritoneal cavity (Fagotto and Gumbiner, 1996;Choi et al, 2008).…”

Aberrant Methylation of the E-Cadherin Gene Promoter Region in Endometrium and Ovarian Endometriotic Cysts of Patients with Ovarian Endometriosis

“…Some studies have reported reduced expression of Ecadherin in the glandular epithelia of endometriosis patients [5,24] , while others observed no differences between cases and controls [25][26][27] . Conversely, some studies demonstrated increased levels of E-cadherin in cases compared with controls [28,29] .…”