E-cadherin expression and E-cadherin mediated adhesion is reduced in cells expressing HPV16 E6 and E7.

<p>HCT116 cells were transfected with plasmids encoding GFP-E5, E6 or E7 and were trypsinised, cleaving surface E-cadherin, 48 h later. Single cell suspensions were cultured for 2 h in low adhesion plates for E-cadherin re-expression and cell-to-cell adhesion to occur. Cells were stained for E-cadherin and GFP positive cells with comparable levels of expression between samples were analysed using flow cytometry. (<b>a</b>) Dot plots showing the E-cadherin negative single cell population (<i>lower left</i>), E-cadherin positive single cells (<i>upper left</i>), E-cadherin positive aggregates (<i>upper right</i>), with the percentage of events in each quadrant shown. (<b>b</b>) Cell surface E-cadherin fluorescence and (<b>c</b>) cellular aggregates mediated by E-cadherin on GFP-positive cells. n = 5 independent experiments. Error bars represent ± SEM. * <i>P</i><0.05, ** <i>P</i><0.01, *** <i>P</i><0.001.