Abstract
The activation of an abnormal glycosylation pathway in cancer cells leads to the formation of the sialyl-Tn antigen, blocking regular carbohydrate chain elongation. Sialyl-Tn antigen is rarely expressed in normal tissues but is aberrantly expressed in a variety of carcinomas, where it constitutes a marker of poor prognosis. Although the clinical significance of sialyl-Tn is well characterized, a functional role for this glycan and its contribution to cancer progression remain to be elucidated. This study evaluates the capability of sialyl-Tn to modify processes like cell cycle, apoptosis, actin cytoskeleton dynamics, adhesion and motility on ECM components, cell-cell aggregation and invasion. De-novo expression of sialyl-Tn leads to major morphological and cell behavior alterations in gastric carcinoma cells which were reverted by specific antibody blockage. Sialyl-Tn antigen is able to modulate a malignant phenotype inducing a more aggressive cell behavior, such as decreased cell-cell aggregation and increased ECM adhesion, migration and invasion.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 157-170 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Cancer Letters |
Volume | 249 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 8 2007 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Adhesion
- Gastric carcinoma
- Invasion
- Malignant phenotype
- Sialyl-Tn
- Sialyltransferase
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research