Epithelial cell adhesion molecule

EPCAM
Available structures
PDBOrtholog search: PDBe RCSB
Identifiers
AliasesEPCAM, DIAR5, EGP-2, EGP314, EGP40, ESA, HNPCC8, KS1/4, KSA, M4S1, MIC18, MK-1, TACSTD1, TROP1, epithelial cell adhesion molecule, BerEp4, MOC-31, Ber-Ep4
External IDsOMIM: 185535; MGI: 106653; HomoloGene: 1764; GeneCards: EPCAM; OMA:EPCAM - orthologs
Orthologs
SpeciesHumanMouse
Entrez
Ensembl
UniProt
RefSeq (mRNA)

NM_002354

NM_008532

RefSeq (protein)

NP_002345

NP_032558

Location (UCSC)Chr 2: 47.35 – 47.39 MbChr 17: 87.94 – 87.96 Mb
PubMed search[3][4]
Wikidata
View/Edit HumanView/Edit Mouse

Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), also known as CD326 among other names, is a transmembrane glycoprotein mediating Ca2+-independent homotypic cell–cell adhesion in epithelia.[5] EpCAM is also involved in cell signaling,[6] migration,[7] proliferation, and differentiation.[8] Additionally, EpCAM has oncogenic potential via its capacity to upregulate c-myc, e-fabp, and cyclins A & E.[9] Since EpCAM is expressed exclusively in epithelia and epithelial-derived neoplasms, EpCAM can be used as diagnostic marker for various cancers. It appears to play a role in tumorigenesis and metastasis of carcinomas, so it can also act as a potential prognostic marker and as a potential target for immunotherapeutic strategies.[10]

  1. ^ a b c GRCh38: Ensembl release 89: ENSG00000119888Ensembl, May 2017
  2. ^ a b c GRCm38: Ensembl release 89: ENSMUSG00000045394Ensembl, May 2017
  3. ^ "Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
  4. ^ "Mouse PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
  5. ^ Litvinov SV, Velders MP, Bakker HA, Fleuren GJ, Warnaar SO (April 1994). "Ep-CAM: a human epithelial antigen is a homophilic cell-cell adhesion molecule". The Journal of Cell Biology. 125 (2): 437–46. doi:10.1083/jcb.125.2.437. PMC 2120036. PMID 8163559.
  6. ^ Maetzel D, Denzel S, Mack B, Canis M, Went P, Benk M, et al. (February 2009). "Nuclear signalling by tumour-associated antigen EpCAM". Nature Cell Biology. 11 (2): 162–71. doi:10.1038/ncb1824. PMID 19136966. S2CID 8616872.
  7. ^ Osta WA, Chen Y, Mikhitarian K, Mitas M, Salem M, Hannun YA, et al. (August 2004). "EpCAM is overexpressed in breast cancer and is a potential target for breast cancer gene therapy". Cancer Research. 64 (16): 5818–24. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-04-0754. PMID 15313925.
  8. ^ Litvinov SV, van Driel W, van Rhijn CM, Bakker HA, van Krieken H, Fleuren GJ, Warnaar SO (March 1996). "Expression of Ep-CAM in cervical squamous epithelia correlates with an increased proliferation and the disappearance of markers for terminal differentiation". The American Journal of Pathology. 148 (3): 865–75. PMC 1861708. PMID 8774141.
  9. ^ Münz M, Kieu C, Mack B, Schmitt B, Zeidler R, Gires O (July 2004). "The carcinoma-associated antigen EpCAM upregulates c-myc and induces cell proliferation". Oncogene. 23 (34): 5748–58. doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1207610. PMID 15195135. S2CID 32348616.
  10. ^ Armstrong A, Eck SL (2003). "EpCAM: A new therapeutic target for an old cancer antigen". Cancer Biology & Therapy. 2 (4): 320–6. doi:10.4161/cbt.2.4.451. PMID 14508099.