Plasticity in cell adhesion during tumor progression.

Abstract

Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) mediate cellular adhesions to neighboring cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM) to regulate tissue homeostasis and morphogenesis. Dysfunctional CAM-mediated signaling is required for a neoplastic cell to gain an invasive and metastatic phenotype. Numerous studies have reported a dynamic plasticity in the function and expression of CAMs that regulates the different stages of tumor progression. As such, CAM-induced changes in cell adhesion and intracellular signaling enable phenotype switching and cellular plasticity in cancer cells that contribute to tumor aggressiveness and metastasis. This review summarizes the properties of cell adhesion molecules and the signaling pathways involved in regulating tumor progression and metastasis.