This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Henry T. Hoffman, MD; Madhu Subnani, MD; Michael Cha; Lisa Kidd; Jaime Landman; Rick Tooley, MD; Thomas E. Carey, PhD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1990;116(3):299-303.

Abstract
• In vitro, normal keratinocytes exhibit undifferentiated morphologic features and proliferate for multiple passages in low-calcium medium (0.3 mmol/L) whereas, in high-calcium medium (1.0 mmol/L), these cells assume differentiation characteristics, begin to stratify, and eventually cease proliferating. In contrast, malignant keratinocytes grow well in high-calcium medium. Expression of pemphigus vulgaris antigen, a squamous cell marker, is altered on cultured normal keratinocytes by calcium. In this study we compared the effects of calcium levels on expression of cell surface antigens by UM-SCC-38, a human squamous carcinoma cell line, and normal keratinocytes cultured from newborn foreskin. Pemphigus, pemphigoid, β2-microglobulin antigens, as well as the epidermal growth factor receptor and the A9 germinal epithelial cell basement membrane squamous carcinoma antigen were examined. Pemphigus antigen was strongly expressed on normal and malignant cells in high-calcium but not low-calcium medium. Calcium concentration did not affect the expression of any of the other antigens tested. Thus, although calcium induces differentiation and eventual loss of proliferative capacity in normal but not malignant keratinocytes in vitro, we were unable to demonstrate differences in pemphigus vulgaris antigen expression that might be linked to the growth inhibitory effects induced by high calcium levels in nontransformed epithelial cells in culture.

(Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1990;116:299-303)

Author Affiliations
From the Cancer Research Laboratory, Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dr Hoffman is now with the University of California, San Diego.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication July 21, 1989.

Read before the Second International Conference on Head and Neck Cancer, Boston, Mass, August 2, 1988.

Reprint requests to Cancer Research Laboratory, Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, 6020 KHRI, Box 0506, 1301 E Ann St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0506 (Dr Carey).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?