Loss of expression of μ-protocadherin and protocadherin-24 in sporadic and hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancers

mRNA expression profile and prognostic values of the CDHR family genes in lung adenocarcinoma

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), the predominant subtype of lung cancer, has a high incidence and annual mortality worldwide. Members of the cadherin-related (CDHR) family are associated with many malignant tumor types. However, their role and clinical significance in LUAD have not been clarified. We analyzed the association of CDHRs mRNA expression profiles with prognostic significance, immune infiltration, and potential biological functional signatures in several public databases. We constructed a co-expressed mRNA network, and performed an intrinsic molecular structure and function enrichment analysis. Our results showed that CDHR2 mRNA expression was upregulated in LUAD, whereas CDHR1, CDHR3, CDHR4, and CDHR5 mRNAs were downregulated. Upregulation of CDHR2 mRNA is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with LUAD. Next, the correlation between CDHR family members and immune infiltration was observed. A receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the CDHR family is valuable for diagnosing LUAD. In this study, we found that CDHR2 mRNA expression was upregulated in LUAD. Upregulation of CDHR2 mRNA was associated with a poor prognosis in patients with LUAD.

Cadherins down-regulation: towards a better understanding of their relevance in colorectal cancer

The down-regulation of cadherin expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) has been widely studied. However, existing data on cadherin expression are highly variable and its relevance to CRC development has not been completely established. This review examines published studies on cadherins whose down-regulation has been already demonstrated in CRC, trying to establish a relationship with promoter methylation, the capacity to influence the Wnt / CTNNB1 (catenin beta 1, beta-catenin) signalling pathway and the clinical implications for disease outcome. Moreover, it also analyses factors that may explain data variability and highlights the importance of considering the altered subcellular localization of the examined cadherins. The results of this survey reveal that thirty of one hundred existing cadherins appear to be down-regulated in CRC. Among these, ten are cadherins, sixteen are protocadherins, equally divided between clustered and non clustered, and four are cadherin - related. These findings suggest that, to better define the role played by cadherin down-regulation in CRC pathogenesis, the expression of multiple rather than individual cadherins should be taken into account and further functional studies are necessary to clarify the relative ability of individual cadherins to inhibit CTNNB1 therefore acting as tumor suppressors.