Expresión de CD44s y de las variantes CD44v3/v6 en melanoma humano.

RANUNCOLO, SM; LASTIRI, JM; LORIA, D; GOROSTIDY, S; MORANDI, A; LADEDA, V; DEL AGUILA, R; BAL DE KIER JOFFE, ED; PALLOTTA, MG; PURICELLI, LI

Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires.

Congreso; XLV Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica.; 2000

Sociedad Argentina de Investigacion Clinica (SAIC).

The ability of tumor cells to adhere and detach from extracellular matrix and endothelial cells, is a crucial step in the metastatic process and may alter the clinical prognosis of some human tumors such as melanomas. CD44, the major cell surface receptor for hyaluronate, has been implicated in cell adhesion and in tumor progression. We studied the expression of standard CD44 molecule (CD44s) and its variants v3 and v6 in 57 human primary melanoma biopsies, without previous treatment. We analyzed the association between CD44 expression and the principal clinicopathological features, including survival. Fifty-six of 57 tumors expressed CD44s, associated to the cytoplasmic membrane. No expression of CD44v3 or CD44v6 was detected. No association between CD44s expression and prognostic factors such as tumor thickness, growth type, stage or anatomic site of the lesion was found. However, a positive correlation between CD44s expression and Clark level (Spearman, p