EpCAM: another surface-to-nucleus missile.

The epithelial-specific cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) modulates cell adhesion and proliferation. Its overexpression correlates with tumor cell proliferation, and EpCAM is a therapeutic target. In the February issue of Nature Cell Biology, Maetzel et al. demonstrate that proliferative responses to EpCAM require regulated intramembrane proteolysis and a nucleocytoplasmic intracellular domain fragment.