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Abstract
Fibroblasts and myofibroblasts were isolated respectively from normal colon mucosa and from colon cancers. Immunostaining with an antibody against α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) of the tissues of origin and of early passage cultures showed equal proportions of α-SMA positive myofibroblasts in vivo as in vitro. Immunocytochemistry, immunoprecipitation of metabolically labelled cells followed by Western blotting and RT-PCR of RNA isolates demonstrated the presence of a N-cadherin/catenin complex in both fibroblasts and myofibroblasts. This complex was found preferentially at the cell-cell boundaries. Immunocytochemistry and, to a lesser extent, co-immunoprecipitation indicated partial colocalisation of catenins and α-SMA. Transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) greatly enhanced the expression of α-SMA, but left the N-cadherin/catenin complex unaltered. We speculate that the N-cadherin/catenin complex may have different functions in myofibroblasts than in fibroblasts because of its interaction with α-SMA.