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University Of Iowa Study Investigates Embryonic-Like Ability Of Aggressive Melanoma Cells

Date:
June 27, 2001
Source:
University Of Iowa
Summary:
University of Iowa researchers and their colleagues have discovered that a protein usually found in endothelial cells (the cells that form blood vessels) is also made by aggressive melanoma cells.
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IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa researchers and their colleagues have discovered that a protein usually found in endothelial cells (the cells that form blood vessels) is also made by aggressive melanoma cells.

The team's research shows that the protein, Vascular Endothelial Cadherin (VE-Cadherin), plays a key role in the ability of these cancer cells to form primitive vascular networks. The results of the study appear in the June 19 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

During embryonic development, primitive blood vessels are initially formed by embryonic cells that develop into endothelial cells and establish vascular networks – a process called vasculogenesis. The subsequent growth and remodeling of these networks occurs through angiogenesis, which involves the sprouting of new blood vessels from the existing vascular network.

UI researchers and their collaborators recently discovered that aggressive melanoma cells have the ability to form primitive tubular networks from scratch. The researchers called the process, which resembles embryonic vasculogenesis, vasculogenic mimicry.

The UI researchers and their colleagues have also shown that in addition to their own specific cellular markers, aggressive tumor cells display the molecular and genetic hallmarks of other cell types such as expressing VE-Cadherin, which is normally associated with endothelial cells.

"We are discovering that these tumor cells are really quite flexible in that they can look like or mimic other cell types," said Mary J. C. Hendrix, Ph.D., Kate Daum Research Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the UI and head of the department. "Our studies suggest that highly aggressive melanoma tumors, which can form these primitive networks, have reverted to a more embryonic-like state and have regained a stem cell-like ability to form different types of cells with related functions.

"Thinking about tumors as embryos, or embryonic masses, is a novel way of hypothesizing about how tumor cells behave," added Hendrix, who also is deputy director and associate director of basic research at the UI Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In the latest study, melanoma samples were taken from patients and analyzed. VE-Cadherin was clearly present in the aggressive melanoma cells and completely absent in those that were poorly aggressive. The aggressive melanoma tumors cells were able to form primitive tubular networks, while the poorly aggressive melanoma cells were not able to form the primitive networks. This pattern held true when other aggressive and poorly aggressive melanoma cell samples were analyzed.


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Materials provided by University Of Iowa. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

University Of Iowa. "University Of Iowa Study Investigates Embryonic-Like Ability Of Aggressive Melanoma Cells." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27 June 2001. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/06/010619074513.htm>.
University Of Iowa. (2001, June 27). University Of Iowa Study Investigates Embryonic-Like Ability Of Aggressive Melanoma Cells. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/06/010619074513.htm
University Of Iowa. "University Of Iowa Study Investigates Embryonic-Like Ability Of Aggressive Melanoma Cells." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/06/010619074513.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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