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Metastasis Research Protocols pp 33–45Cite as

Cell Aggregation Assays

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Medicine ((MIMM,volume 58))

Abstract

Invasion of carcinoma cells is the result of a disequilibrium between invasion promoter and invasion suppressor gene products (1). The E-cadherin/catenin complex is the most potent invasion suppressor at the cell membrane of epithelioid cells (2).This complex consists of E-cadherin, a transmembrane glycoprotein of 120 kDa, which is linked to the actin cytoskeleton via the catenins (3). Downregulation of the complex is a common feature in invasive carcinoma cells, and has been recognized at several levels, ranging from genomic mutations to functional deficiencies of an apparently intact complex (4). Cell aggregation assays have been set up to test the functionality of the complex in epithelioid tumor cells. Functional integrity of the complex is a prerequisite for cell-cell adhesion between epithelial cells, and measuring cell aggregation in vitro has thus become another elegant tool to study differences between invasive and noninvasive cell types.

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Experimental Cancerology, Department of Radiotherapy, Nuclear Medicine and Experimental Cancerology, University Hospital Gent, Gent, Belgium

    Tom Boterberg, Marc E. Bracke, Erik A. Bruyneel & Marc M. Mareel

Authors
  1. Tom Boterberg
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  2. Marc E. Bracke
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  3. Erik A. Bruyneel
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  4. Marc M. Mareel
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Research School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

    Susan A. Brooks

  2. Institute for Anatomy, Department of Neuroanatomy, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Udo Schumacher

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© 2001 Humana Press Inc.

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Boterberg, T., Bracke, M.E., Bruyneel, E.A., Mareel, M.M. (2001). Cell Aggregation Assays. In: Brooks, S.A., Schumacher, U. (eds) Metastasis Research Protocols. Methods in Molecular Medicine, vol 58. Humana, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-137-X:033

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-137-X:033

  • Publisher Name: Humana, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-89603-615-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-137-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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