title: Ectopic expression of a GlcNAc 6-O-sulfotransferase, GlcNAc6ST-2, in colonic mucinous adenocarcinoma.
abstract: The content of sulfated glycans having 6-O-sulfated GlcNAc residues alters in the course of colonic carcinogenesis. We previously characterized two GlcNAc 6-O-sulfotransferases (SulTs), SulT-a and -b, expressed in colonic normal tissues and adenocarcinomas [Seko et al. (2000) Glycobiology, 10, 919-929]. Levels of the enzymatic activities of SulT-a in normal colonic mucosa are higher than those in colonic adenocarcinomas, and the enzymatic activities of SulT-b are detected only in mucinous adenocarcinomas. To determine which GlcNAc 6-O-SulTs cloned so far correspond to SulT-a and -b, we expressed seven enzymes of a Gal/GalNAc/GlcNAc 6-O-SulT family in COS-7 cells and examined their substrate specificities in comparison with those of SulT-a and -b. GlcNAc6ST-2 (HEC-GlcNAc6ST, LSST, or GST-3) can recognize GlcNAcbeta1-->3GalNAcalpha1-O-pNP as a good acceptor as well as other O-linked- and N-linked-type oligosaccharides, and its substrate specificity was similar to that of SulT-b. GlcNAc6ST-3(I-GlcNAc6ST or GST-4alpha) preferred Galbeta1-->3(GlcNAcbeta1-->6)GalNAcalpha1-O-pNP as an acceptor to the other oligosaccharides examined, and its specificity was similar to that of SulT-a. To confirm these correspondences, we further performed quantitative analyses of transcripts for GlcNAc6ST-2 and -3 genes by competitive RT-PCR. As a result, GlcNAc6ST-2 gene was expressed in almost all the mucinous adenocarcinomas examined and hardly expressed in normal colonic mucosa and nonmucinous adenocarcinoma. Expression levels of transcript for GlcNAc6ST-3 in normal mucosa were significantly higher than those in adenocarcinomas. From these results, it was indicated that GlcNAc6ST-2 corresponds to mucinous adenocarcinoma-specific SulT-b and that expression of GlcNAc6ST-3 is down-regulated in colonic adenocarcinomas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Sasaki Institute, 2-2, Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0062, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Seko
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagata
authors.forename: Suguru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yonezawa
authors.forename: Katsuko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamashita
mesh_terms: D002288:Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D019556:COS Cells; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013431:Sulfates / Q000378:metabolism; D015238:Sulfotransferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000097811:Carbohydrate Sulfotransferases
chemical_list: D009844:Oligosaccharides; D013431:Sulfates; D015238:Sulfotransferases; D000097811:Carbohydrate Sulfotransferases