TY - JOUR
T1 - Expression of C4.4A, a structural uPAR homolog, reflects squamous epithelial differentiation in the adult mouse and during embryogenesis
AU - Kriegbaum, Mette Camilla
AU - Jacobsen, Benedikte
AU - Hald, Andreas
AU - Ploug, Michael
PY - 2011/2/1
Y1 - 2011/2/1
N2 - The glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored C4.4A was originally identified as a metastasis-associated protein by differential screening of rat pancreatic carcinoma cell lines. C4.4A is accordingly expressed in various human carcinoma lesions. Although C4.4A is a structural homolog of the urokinase receptor (uPAR), which is implicated in cancer invasion and metastasis, no function has so far been assigned to C4.4A. To assist future studies on its function in both physiological and pathophysiological conditions, the present study provide a global survey on C4.4A expression in the normal mouse by a comprehensive immunohistochemical mapping. This task was accomplished by staining paraffin-embedded tissues with a specific rabbit polyclonal anti-C4.4A antibody. In the adult mouse, C4.4A was predominantly expressed in the suprabasal layers of the squamous epithelia of the oral cavity, esophagus, non-glandular portion of the rodent stomach, anus, vagina, cornea, and skin. This epithelial confinement was particularly evident from the abrupt termination of C4.4A expression at the squamo-columnar transition zones found at the ano-rectal and utero-vaginal junctions, for example. During mouse embryogenesis, C4.4A expression first appears in the developing squamous epithelium at embryonic day 13.5. This anatomical location of C4.4A is thus concordant with a possible functional role in early differentiation of stratified squamous epithelia.
AB - The glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored C4.4A was originally identified as a metastasis-associated protein by differential screening of rat pancreatic carcinoma cell lines. C4.4A is accordingly expressed in various human carcinoma lesions. Although C4.4A is a structural homolog of the urokinase receptor (uPAR), which is implicated in cancer invasion and metastasis, no function has so far been assigned to C4.4A. To assist future studies on its function in both physiological and pathophysiological conditions, the present study provide a global survey on C4.4A expression in the normal mouse by a comprehensive immunohistochemical mapping. This task was accomplished by staining paraffin-embedded tissues with a specific rabbit polyclonal anti-C4.4A antibody. In the adult mouse, C4.4A was predominantly expressed in the suprabasal layers of the squamous epithelia of the oral cavity, esophagus, non-glandular portion of the rodent stomach, anus, vagina, cornea, and skin. This epithelial confinement was particularly evident from the abrupt termination of C4.4A expression at the squamo-columnar transition zones found at the ano-rectal and utero-vaginal junctions, for example. During mouse embryogenesis, C4.4A expression first appears in the developing squamous epithelium at embryonic day 13.5. This anatomical location of C4.4A is thus concordant with a possible functional role in early differentiation of stratified squamous epithelia.
KW - Animals
KW - Cell Adhesion Molecules
KW - Cell Differentiation
KW - Embryonic Development
KW - Epithelial Cells
KW - Female
KW - GPI-Linked Proteins
KW - Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
KW - Humans
KW - Immunohistochemistry
KW - Male
KW - Mice
KW - Phenotype
KW - Protein Transport
KW - Rats
KW - Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator
KW - Reproduction
KW - Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
U2 - 10.1369/0022155410394859
DO - 10.1369/0022155410394859
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 21339181
SN - 0022-1554
VL - 59
SP - 188
EP - 201
JO - Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry
JF - Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry
IS - 2
ER -
