PLoS ONE (Jan 2013)

The cancer stem cell marker CD133 interacts with plakoglobin and controls desmoglein-2 protein levels.

  • Ryo Koyama-Nasu,
  • Rina Takahashi,
  • Satoshi Yanagida,
  • Yukiko Nasu-Nishimura,
  • Masaaki Oyama,
  • Hiroko Kozuka-Hata,
  • Ryo Haruta,
  • Emi Manabe,
  • Akemi Hoshino-Okubo,
  • Hiroko Omi,
  • Nozomu Yanaihara,
  • Aikou Okamoto,
  • Tadao Tanaka,
  • Tetsu Akiyama

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0053710
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
p. e53710

Abstract

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The pentaspan membrane glycoprotein CD133 (also known as prominin-1) has been widely used as a marker for both cancer and normal stem cells. However, the function of CD133 has not been elucidated. Here we describe a cancer stem cell line established from clear cell carcinoma of the ovary (CCC) and show that CD133 interacts with plakoglobin (also known as γ-catenin), a desmosomal linker protein. We further demonstrate that knockdown of CD133 by RNA interference (RNAi) results in the downregulation of desmoglein-2, a desmosomal cadherin, and abrogates cell-cell adhesion and tumorigenicity of CCC stem cells. We speculate that CD133 may be a promising target for cancer chemotherapy.