mTOR is a central controller for cell growth/proliferation and survival. Recent studies have shown that mTOR also regulates cell adhesion, yet the underlying mechanism is not known. Here we found that inhibition of mTOR by rapamycin reduced the basal or type I insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)-stimulated adhesion of cancer cells. Further research revealed that both mTORC1 and mTORC2 were invol...

Mammalian cells regulate adhesion by expressing and regulating a diverse array of cell adhesion molecules on their cell surfaces. Since different cell types express distinct sets of cell adhesion molecules, substrate-specific adhesion is cell type- and condition-dependent. Single-cell force spectroscopy is used to quantify the contribution of cell adhesion molecules to adhesion of cells to spec...

Endothelial sequestration of circulating monocytes is a key event in early atherosclerosis. Hemodynamics is proposed to regulate monocyte-endothelial cell interactions by direct cell activation and establishment of flow environments that are conducive or prohibitive to cell-cell interaction. We investigated fluid shear regulation of monocyte-endothelial cell adhesion in vitro using a disturbed ...

Chemical synapses are asymmetric intercellular junctions that mediate synaptic transmission. Synaptic junctions are organized by trans-synaptic cell adhesion molecules bridging the synaptic cleft. Synaptic cell adhesion molecules not only connect pre- and postsynaptic compartments, but also mediate trans-synaptic recognition and signaling processes that are essential for the establishment, spec...

The adhesion forces of cervical carcinoma cells in tissue culture were measured by using the manipulation force microscope, a novel atomic force microscope. The forces were studied as a function of time and temperature for cells cultured on hydrophilic and hydrophobic polystyrene substrates with preadsorbed proteins. The cells attached faster and stronger at 37 degreesC than at 23 degreesC and ...

1Department of Life Sciences, Division of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Center for Cell Signaling & Drug Discovery Research, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 120-750, Republic of Korea 2Division of Cancer Cell Research, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan 3Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Medical Center, University of Münster, D-48...

Notch family members are generally recognized as signaling molecules that control various cellular responses in metazoan organisms. Early fly studies and our mammalian studies demonstrated that Notch family members are also cell adhesion molecules; however, information on the physiological roles of this function and its origin is limited. In this review, we discuss the potential present and anc...

The adhesion of cells is mediated by the binding of several cell-surface receptors to ligands found in the extracellular matrix. These receptors often have overlapping specificities for the peptide ligands, making it difficult to understand the roles for discrete receptors in cell adhesion, migration, and differentiation as well as to direct the selective adhesion of cell types in tissue-engine...

The CD44 proteins form a ubiquitously expressed family of cell surface adhesion molecules involved in cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. The multiple protein isoforms are encoded by a single gene by alternative splicing and are further modified by a range of post-translational modifications. CD44 proteins are single chain molecules comprising an N-terminal extracellular domain, a membrane ...

Endothelial adhesion molecules play an important role in the tissue recruitment of leukocytes in inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. We have investigated the effect of the antirheumatic drug gold sodium thiomalate on adhesion molecule protein and mRNA expression in cultured human endothelial cells. Gold sodium thiomalate inhibited cytokine (TNF, IL-1, IL-4)-stimulated expressi...