Abstract
Summary. E-cadherin plays a crucial structural role in cell-cell contacts in epithelial tissues, and a functional role in signaling pathways that regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. Reduced immunoexpression of E-cadherin adhesions is largely considered as being equivalent to defective functionality and malignancy, and has been used as a prognostic parameter. A critical analysis of studies on E-cadherin immunoexpression in oral carcinomas revealed a wide range of both technical and interpretational aspects. This paper highlights biological characteristics of E-cadherin with respect to its expression in normal and neoplastic epithelial cells and to its interrelations with the tumor microenvironment that can have an impact on immunohistochemical results and their application in the clinical setting.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 141-150 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Histology and Histopathology |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 2 |
State | Published - 1 Feb 2012 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- E-cadherin
- Extracellular and intracellular domain
- Immunohistochemistry
- Oral carcinoma
- Tumor microenvironment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine
- Histology