Sialoglycoconjugate expression in primary colorectal cancer and metastatic lymph node tissues.
OBJECTIVE
Aberrant cell surface glycosylation, and especially excessive sialylation, is thought to have great importance in tumor malignancy. To investigate the clinicopathological significance of sialylation in colorectal cancer, we performed histochemical analyses using sialic acid-binding lectins.


METHODS
Primary colorectal cancer and lymph node tissues obtained from 80 cases were subjected to lectin-immunohistochemical staining using Maackia amurensis leukoagglutinin (MAL) and Sambucus nigra agglutinin (SNA). The relationship between the staining characteristics and the various clinicopathological parameters was statistically analyzed.


RESULTS
In primary cancer tissues, a high level of SNA staining was significantly related to worse prognosis and some pathological characteristics such as lymph node metastasis, whereas a high level of MAL staining was related to worse prognosis. In metastatic lymph node tissues, positive staining was frequently found for MAL and SNA, which wasremarkable in cases categorized as N2 metastasis. Furthermore, cases with MAL-positive staining in metastatic lymph node tissues evidently indicated worse prognosis than those with MAL-negative staining.


CONCLUSIONS
Aberrant expression of SNA-positive sialoglycoconjugates in primary colorectal cancer tissues is important in terms of unfavorable pathological characteristics of the cancer. In addition, aberrant expression of MAL-positive sialoglycoconjugates in metastatic lymph node tissues might be related to worse prognosis.
Inagaki
Yoshinori
Y
Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery Division, Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Tang
Wei
W
Guo
Qian
Q
Kokudo
Norihiro
N
Sugawara
Yasuhiko
Y
Karako
Hirona
H
Konishi
Toshiro
T
Nakata
Munehiro
M
Nagawa
Hirokazu
H
Makuuchi
Masatoshi
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006001:Glycoconjugates / Q000378:metabolism*; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry; D006031:Glycosylation; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D029901:Maackia / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000737:chemistry; D027924:Sambucus nigra / Q000737:chemistry; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D016019:Survival Analysis
D006001:Glycoconjugates; D006023:Glycoproteins; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins; D012794:Sialic Acids; C100156:leukoagglutinins, plants