Beta1,3-galactosyltransferases-4/5 are novel tumor markers for gynecological cancers.
OBJECTIVE
While the CA 125 and SCC antigens are used as tumor markers for ovarian cancer and uterine cervical cancer, respectively, an effective marker for uterine corpus cancer has not been identified. We asked whether beta1,3-galactosyltransferase-4 and/or 5 (beta3Gal-T4/T5) could serve as novel tumor markers for detecting gynecological carcinomas, especially those of the uterine corpus.


METHODS
We obtained a monoclonal antibody and a polyclonal antiserum against beta3Gal-T5 and constructed a sandwich ELISA method. Western blot analysis and immunoprecipitation revealed that this ELISA recognizes both beta3Gal-T4 and beta3Gal-T5.


RESULTS
We found beta3Gal-T4 and T5 enzymatic activity in ovarian cancer tissues, indicating that these enzymes are expressed at least in ovarian cancer. The cutoff value was determined by ROC analysis to be 5.4 ng/ml in the sera. The beta3Gal-T4/T5-positive rates for the sera from ovarian cancer and uterine cervical cancer patients were comparable with the CA 125- and SCC antigen-positive rates for these cancers, respectively. Significantly, the beta3Gal-T4/T5-positive rate was higher for uterine corpus cancer (64%) than the CA 125 (37%)- and CA 19-9 (24%)-positive rates. The stage I uterine corpus cancers had particularly high beta3Gal-T4/T5-positive rates (57%).


CONCLUSIONS
beta3Gal-T4/T5 is a novel tumor marker for uterine corpus cancer and other gynecological cancers.
Seko
Akira
A
Innovative Research Initiatives, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan.
Kataoka
Fumio
F
Aoki
Daisuke
D
Sakamoto
Masaru
M
Nakamura
Toshiaki
T
Hatae
Masayuki
M
Yonezawa
Suguru
S
Yamashita
Katsuko
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D018394:CA-125 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005700:Galactosyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015843:Serpins / Q000378:metabolism; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018394:CA-125 Antigen; D015843:Serpins; C051072:squamous cell carcinoma-related antigen; C479886:B3GALT5 protein, human; D005700:Galactosyltransferases; C540196:UDP-Gal-betaGlcNAc beta 1,3-galactosyltransferase, human