ADAM15 to α5β1 integrin switch in colon carcinoma cells: a late event in cancer progression associated with tumor dedifferentiation and poor prognosis.
Expression of ADAM8 and ADAM15 correlated significantly with tumour stage (P=0.048 and P=0.044), and ADAM12 expression correlated with tumour grade (P=0.011).
Using human tumor and cDNA microarray technology, we have recently shown that the ADAM15 disintegrin is significantly overexpressed during the metastatic progression of human prostate cancer.
These data indicate that selective expression of ADAM-15 variants in breast cancers could play an important role in determining tumor aggressiveness by interplay with intracellular signaling pathways.
In conclusion, our results point to a physiological role of ADAM15 as a natural binding partner of integrin alphavbeta3 thereby loosening tumor cell adhesion to the underlying matrix and regulating tumor cell migration and invasion.