p38 MAP kinase is necessary for melanoma-mediated regulation of VE-cadherin disassembly.

Vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin is localized to the endothelial borders and the adherens junctions, which are regulated by changes in mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases, GTPases, and intracellular calcium. We previously showed that melanoma cells induce VE-cadherin disassembly through contact with human umbilical vein endothelial cells in coculture. However, the exact mechanism by which melanoma cells signal endothelial cells to induce VE-cadherin junction disassembly is not well understood.