Activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM)/Cluster of differentiation (CD166) is a type I transmembrane cell adhesion molecule belonging to the Ig superfamily and a ligand for CD6 that is expressed on T lymphocytes. The extracellular domain of ALCAM contains five Ig-like domains (three Ig-like C2-type domains and two Ig-like V-type domains), of which the amino-terminal V1 domain is essential for ligand binding and ALCAM-mediated cell aggregation. ALCAM mediates both heterophilic (ALCAM-CD6) and homophilic (ALCAM-ALCAM) cell-cell interactions. ALCAM/CD6 interaction plays a role in T cell development and T cell regulation, as well as in the binding of T- and B-cells to activated leukocytes. Recently, homophilic (ALCAM-ALCAM) adhesion was shown to play important roles in tight cell-to-cell interaction and regulation of stem cell differentiation. While expressed in a wide variety of tissues, ALCAM is usually restricted to subsets of cells involved in dynamic growth and/or migration, including neural development, branching organ development, hematopoiesis, immune response and tumor progression. And CD166 is regarded as a potential novel breast cancer indicator and therapeutic target.
