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

• Main Authors: 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
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3542344?pdf=render

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.