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α4-laminins, such as laminins 411 and 421, are mesenchymal laminins expressed by blood and lymphatic vessels and some tumor cells. Laminin-411 promotes migration of leukocytes and endothelial cells, but the effect of this laminin and laminin-421 on tumor cells is poorly understood. In the present study, we demonstrate that laminin-411 and, to a greater extent, laminin-421 significantly promote migration of tumor cells originated from melanomas, gliomas and different carcinomas via α6β1 integrin. In solid-phase binding assays, both laminins similarly bound α6β1 integrin but only laminin-421, among several laminin isoforms, readily bound MCAM (CD146), a cell-surface adhesion molecule strongly associated with tumor progression. Accordingly, a function-blocking mAb to MCAM inhibited tumor cell migration on laminin-421 but not on laminins 411 or 521. In tumor tissues, melanoma cells co-expressed MCAM, laminin α4, β1, β2 and γ1 chains, and integrin α6 and β1 chains. The present data highlight the novel role of α4-laminins in tumor cell migration and identify laminin-421 as a primary ligand for MCAM and a putative mediator of tumor invasion and metastasis.

Melanoma cells express and interact with laminins (LMs) and other basement membrane components during invasion and metastasis. In the present study we have investigated the production and migration-promoting activity of laminin isoforms in melanoma. Immunohistochemistry of melanoma specimens and immunoprecipitation/western blotting of melanoma cell lines indicated expression of laminin-111/121, laminin-211, laminin-411/421, and laminin-511/521. Laminin-332 was not detected. In functional assays, laminin-111, laminin-332, and laminin-511, but not laminin-211 and laminin-411, strongly promoted haptotactic cell migration either constitutively or following stimulation with insulin-like growth factors. Both placenta and recombinant laminin-511 preparations were highly active, and the isolated recombinant IVa domain of LMα5 also promoted cell migration. Function-blocking antibodies in cell migration assays revealed α6β1 integrin as the major receptor for laminin-111, and both α3β1 and α6β1 integrins for laminin-332 and laminin-511. In contrast, isolated LMα5 IVa domain-promoted melanoma cell migration was largely mediated via αVβ3 integrin and inhibited by RGD peptides. Given the ubiquitous expression of α5 laminins in melanoma cells and in melanoma-target tissues/anatomical structures, as well as the strong migration-promoting activity of these laminin isoforms, the α5 laminins emerge as putative primary extracellular matrix mediators of melanoma invasion and metastasis via α3β1 and other integrin receptors.

The gingival epithelium is the physiologically important interface between the bacterially colonized gingival sulcus and periodontal soft and mineralized connective tissues requiring protection from exposure to bacteria and their products. However, the molecules comprising the gingival epithelial cell junction remain poorly characterized. Thus, the aim of the present study was to characterize the desmosome-associating proteins (desmoglein 1 and 3), desmosome-associating cytoskeleton (keratins), and tight junction-associating protein (claudin-1) within the oral gingival epithelium (OGE), sulcular epithelium (SE), and junctional epithelium (JE). Gingival epithelia excised at therapeutic flap surgery from patients with periodontitis were used to examine expression of adhesion molecules by immunofluorescence. In the OGE and SE, but not JE, desmoglein 1 was more abundant in the cell-cell contact sites of the upper than the suprabasal layer, while desmoglein 3 and desmoplakin were present in the cell-cell contact sites in all layers of the JE as well as the OGE and SE. Keratin 14 and 19, but not keratin 13 and 4, were present in the JE. Claudin-1 was expressed only in the intermediate layers in the uppermost flat layers in the OGE. These data indicated that the JE contained only few desmosomes composed of desmoglein 3. Thus, it is thought that the anchoring junction connecting JE cells is not firm, causing widened intercellular spaces in the JE. In contrast, the OGE, which has tight junctions, functions as a barrier.

α4-Laminins, such as laminins 411 and 421, are mesenchymal laminins expressed by vascular and lymphatic endothelial cells, leukocytes and other normal cell types. These laminins are recognized by α6β1 and α6β4 integrins and MCAM (CD146), and promote adhesion and migration of the cells. α4-Laminins are also expressed and secreted by some tumor cells and strongly promote tumor cell migration. Moreover, the abluminal side of blood and/or lymphatic vessels and the nerve perineurium, common tracks of tumor cell dissemination, express α4-laminins, and these laminin isoforms, when expressed in the stroma, may contribute to tumor invasion. In the present study, we examined ten mAbs to human laminin α4 chain for their reactivity with the isolated laminin α4 globular domain, their ability to inhibit tumor cell adhesion and migration on laminins 411 and 421, and their effect on the binding of α6β1 integrin and MCAM to both α4-laminins. Most of the mAbs reacted with the laminin α4 globular domain, but only two, mAbs FC10 and 084, significantly inhibited tumor cell adhesion and migration on laminin-411. When used in combination, these antibodies practically abolished the cell adhesion and migration on laminin-411 and significantly reduced the cellular responses on laminin-421. Accordingly, mAbs FC10 and 084 significantly inhibited the binding of purified α6β1 integrin and MCAM to laminins 411 and 421. These results indicate that mAbs to the laminin α4 globular domain are able to inhibit tumor cell adhesion and migration on laminins 411 and 421, and that α6β1 integrin and MCAM bind α4-laminins at very close sites on the globular domain. These reagents contribute to a better understanding of the biology of α4-laminins and may have a therapeutic potential in malignant and inflammatory diseases.

Background/Aims Ischemia/reperfusion damage to the liver remains a serious concern in many clinical situations. Major mechanisms for this certainly include oxidative stress. Methods The effects of ablating the p66 isoform of ShcA (p66 shc ) on hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced oxidative stress and cell injury in hepatocytes were investigated. Results Immediately after reoxygenation, AML12 cells were clearly under oxidative stress; many cells underwent apoptosis. However, knockdown of p66 shc by specific RNAi markedly decreased cellular oxidative stress and H/R-induced apoptosis, as well as conferring resistance to H 2 O 2 insult. These data suggest that prevention of apoptosis conferred by ablation of p66 shc results from changed ROS-scavenging, but not inhibition of ROS generation. These data were also confirmed in fibroblasts from p66 shc knockout mice. Anti-oxidant molecules, such as MnSOD and Ref-1 and the anti-apoptotic molecule Bcl-xL were up-regulated, and pro-apoptotic FLICE was down-regulated, by ablation of p66 shc . Interestingly, catalase expression was not affected in p66 shc -knockdown-AML12 cells although it is a major target in other cell types. Conclusions Our findings suggest that in hepatocytes, ablation of p66 shc is cytoprotective against H/R-induced oxidative stress, with MnSOD and Ref-1 playing critical roles, and with up-regulation of Bcl-xL and down-regulation of FLICE contributing jointly to preventing cells from undergoing oxidant-induced apoptosis.

Laminins, a large family of αβγ heterotrimeric proteins mainly found in basement membranes, are strong promoters of adhesion and migration of multiple cell types, such as tumor and immune cells, via several integrin receptors. Among laminin α (LMα) chains, α5 displays the widest tissue distribution in adult life and is synthesized by most cell types. Here, we have generated and characterized five novel monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to the human LMα5 chain to further study the biological relevance of α5 laminins, such as laminins 511 (α5β1γ1) and 521 (α5β2γ1). As detected by ELISA, immunohistochemistry, immunoprecipitation and Western blotting, each antibody displayed unique properties when compared to mAb 4C7, the prototype LMα5 antibody. Of greatest interest, mAb 8G9, but not any other antibody, strongly inhibited α3β1/α6β1 integrin-mediated adhesion and migration of glioma, melanoma, and carcinoma cells on laminin-511 and, together with mAb 4C7, on laminin-521. Accordingly, mAb 8G9 abolished the interaction of soluble α3β1 integrin with immobilized laminins 511 and 521. Binding of mAb 8G9 to laminin-511 was unaffected by the other mAbs to the LMα5 chain but largely hindered by mAb 4E10 to a LMβ1 chain epitope near the globular domain of laminin-511. Thus, mAb 8G9 defines a novel epitope localized at or near the integrin-binding globular domain of the LMα5 chain, which is essential for cell adhesion and migration, and identifies a potential therapeutic target in malignant and inflammatory diseases.