Expression of cell adhesion molecules and connexins in gap junctional intercellular communication deficient human mesothelioma tumour cell lines and communication competent primary mesothelial cells.

Gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) has been reported to be markedly reduced in human mesothelioma tumour cell lines compared with primary mesothelial cells. Immunofluorescence stainings have shown that the gap junction protein connexin43 (Cx43) is expressed in both malignant and normal mesothelial cells. In this study the mRNA expression of Cx43 and three different connexins--Cx37, Cx40 and Cx45, which are highly expressed in lung tissue--was investigated in eight human mesothelioma cell lines, and in human primary mesothelial cells from several donors. The expression of the intercellular adhesion molecules A-CAM (N-cadherin) and L-CAM (E-cadherin) was studied at the protein level. No mRNA expression of Cx37, Cx40 or Cx45 in either mesothelioma tumour cells or the primary mesothelial cells was detected. Cx43 was expressed at both the mRNA and the protein level, in seven out of eight mesothelioma cell lines, as well as in all the primary mesothelial cell cultures. The well as in all the primary mesothelial cell cultures. The intercellular adhesion molecule A-CAM was expressed at the cell-cell borders in six out of seven mesothelioma cell lines, as well as in normal mesothelial cells. No expression of L-CAM was observed in these cells. The results suggest that Cx43 and A-CAM are the major proteins in gap and adherens junctions respectively in human mesothelial cells. Most mesothelioma tumour cell lines with markedly reduced GJIC still express both Cx43 and A-CAM. Only one of our mesothelioma tumour cell lines severely deficient in GJIC lacks both the gap junction protein Cx43 and the cell adhesion molecule A-CAM.