IMR Press / FBL / Volume 13 / Issue 8 / DOI: 10.2741/2911

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
EpCAM expression in normal, non-pathological tissues
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1 Leipzig University, Biotechnological-Biomedical Center, Department of Cell Culture and Stem Cell Biology, Deutscher Platz 5, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
2 Departments of Cell and Molecular Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Program in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Cancer Center and Center for Gastrointestinal and Biliary Disease Biology, UNC School of Medicine, Campus Box 7038, Glaxo Building Rms 32-35, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2008, 13(8), 3096–3100; https://doi.org/10.2741/2911
Published: 1 January 2008
Abstract

Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EpCAM) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is associated with various cancers. Most normal, non-pathological epithelial tissue is EpCAM positive with the exception of epidermal keratinocytes, gastric parietal cells, myoepithelial cells, thymic cortical epithelial, and hepatocytes. However, during early liver development EpCAM expression is also observed. In our studies, we have demonstrated that EpCAM is expressed in non-pathological human livers on hepatic progenitors in livers of all donor ages, from 16 weeks gestation fetal livers to adult. Hepatic progenitors of the liver consist of the stem cells and their descendants, the hepatoblasts, that give rise to the hepatocytic and biliary lineages. Both hepatic stem cells and most hepatoblasts express EpCAM, but only hepatoblasts are alpha-fetoprotein positive. The percentage of EpCAM positive progenitors in human livers varies with donor age and is about 2.5% in the adult and 12.1% in fetuses. In vivo, hepatic stem cells have been found associated with the canals of Hering. Xeno-transplantation experiments with EpCAM positive human liver cells have revealed their potential for proliferation and differentiation to mature liver parenchymal cells.

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