Exp Mol Med.  2009 Jan;41(1):42-50. 10.3858/emm.2009.41.1.006.

Expression of N-terminal truncated desmoglein 3 (Delta NDg3) in epidermis and its role in keratinocyte differentiation

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine and Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 301-747, Korea. jhoon@cnu.ac.kr
  • 2Hansbiomed Daedeok R&D Center, Daejeon 305-811, Korea.
  • 3Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine and Medical Science Research Center, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, Korea.

Abstract

During a search for keratinocyte differentiation-related genes, we obtained a cDNA fragment from the 5'-untranslated region of a previously identified splicing variant of desmoglein 3 (Dg3). This transcript encodes a protein of 282 amino acids, which corresponds to the N-terminal truncated intracellular domain of Dg3 (Delta NDg3). Northern blot analysis detected a 4.6-kb transcript matching the predicted size of Delta NDg3 mRNA, and Western blot analysis with an antibody raised against the Dg3 C-terminus (H-145) detected a 31-kDa protein. Increased Delta NDg3 expression was observed in differentiating keratinocytes by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, suggesting that Delta NDg3 is indeed a differentiation-related gene product. In immunohistochemical studies of normal and pathologic tissues, H-145 antibody detected the protein in the cytoplasm of suprabasal layer cells, whereas an antibody directed against the N-terminal region of Dg3 (AF1720) reacted with a membrane protein in the basal layer. In addition, Delta NDg3 transcript and protein were upregulated in psoriatic epidermis, and protein expression appeared to increase in epidermal tumors including Bowen's disease and squamous cell carcinoma. Moreover, overexpression of Delta NDg3 led to increased migration and weakening of cell adhesion. These results suggest that Delta NDg3 have a role in keratinocyte differentiation, and that may be related with tumorigenesis of epithelial origin.

Keyword

cell adhesion; cell differentiation; cell movement; desmoglein 3; epidermis; keratinocytes; skin neoplasms

MeSH Terms

Cell Adhesion
*Cell Differentiation
Cell Movement
Cells, Cultured
Desmoglein 3/*genetics/*metabolism
Epidermis/cytology
Gene Expression
Humans
Keratinocytes/*cytology
Skin Diseases/genetics/metabolism
gamma Catenin/metabolism
Full Text Links
  • EMM
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr