title: alpha1-acid glycoprotein fucosylation as a marker of carcinoma progression and prognosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Serum alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), an acute-phase protein secreted by the liver, carries alpha(1,3)-fucosylated structures on its 5 highly branched, N-linked sugar chains.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum AGP levels in patients with various types of malignancies (n=214 patients) were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with anti-AGP antibody. To investigate glycoforms that differed in their degree of branching and extent of fucosylation, serum AGP samples were analyzed by crossed affinoimmunoelectrophoresis (CAIE) with concanavalin A, and Aleuria aurantia lectin (AAL), and anti-AGP antibody.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant difference (P <0.001) in serum AGP levels was observed in preoperative patients compared with levels in the healthy control group, but the levels in individual patients did not reflect their clinical status. Conversely, it was found not only that the patterns of AGP glycoforms differed widely in the patient group compared with the healthy control group, but they also changed depending on each patient's clinical status. Furthermore, AGP glycoforms seemed to be appropriate markers of disease progression and prognosis according to follow-up studies of 45 patients during prolonged preoperative and postoperative periods.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with advanced malignancies who had AGP glycoforms that contained highly fucosylated triantennary and tetraantennary sugar chains for long periods after surgery were likely to have a poor prognosis. However, patients who had AGP glycoforms without such changes were expected to have a good prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgical Science (Surgery 1), Gunma University, Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asao
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yagihashi
authors.forename: Toyo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: Abby R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Saniabadi
authors.forename: Dennis C W
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Poland
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van Dijk
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuwano
authors.forename: Naohisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kochibe
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yazawa
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018450:Disease Progression; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005643:Fucose / Q000378:metabolism; D005647:Fucosyltransferases / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D009961:Orosomucoid / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D009961:Orosomucoid; D005643:Fucose; D005647:Fucosyltransferases; C031692:galactoside 3-fucosyltransferase