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The leukocyte protein L-plastin induces proliferation, invasion and loss of E-cadherin expression in colon cancer cells.

Foran E, McWilliam P, Kelleher D, Croke DT, Long A

Department of Biochemistry, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, and Department of Clinical Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Republic of Ireland.

L-plastin, a gene that codes for an actin-bundling protein, is upregulated in the metastatic colon cancer cell line SW620, when compared to its premetastatic counterpart SW480. The aim of our study was to characterise the effect of L-plastin overexpression on SW480 cells in the context of the acquisition of a metastatic phenotype. SW480 cell lines overexpressing L-plastin were established (SW480-LPL). Analysis of these cell lines revealed significantly higher rates of proliferation and invasion than the control cell line (SW480-Ctrl). In addition, the expression of E-cadherin was lost from SW480-LPL cells. Treatment of SW480-LPL cells with cytochalasin B, an inhibitor of endocytosis, attenuated the loss of E-cadherin expression in these cells. The association of L-plastin overexpression with an increased rate of proliferation and invasion, and loss of E-cadherin expression in the SW480 colon cancer cell line indicates that L-plastin plays an important mechanistic role in colorectal cancer metastasis (supplementary material for this article can be found on the International Journal of Cancer website at http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/0020-7136/suppmat/index.html).

Published 21 February 2006 in Int J Cancer, 118(8): 2098-104.
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