title: Functional analysis of α1,3/4-fucosyltransferase VI in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
abstract: The α1,3/4-fucosyltransferases (FUT) subfamily are key enzymes in cell surface antigen synthesis during various biological processes. A novel role of FUTs in tumorigenesis has been discovered recently, however, the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. Here, we characterized FUT6, a member of α1,3/4-FUT subfamily, in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In HCC tissues, the expression levels of FUT6 and its catalytic product SLe(x) were significantly up-regulated. Overexpression of FUT6 in HCC cells enhanced S-phase cell population, promoted cell growth and colony formation ability. Moreover, subcutaneously injection of FUT6-overexpressing cells in nude mice promoted cell growth in vivo. In addition, elevating FUT6 expression markedly induced intracellular Akt phosphorylation, and suppressed the expression of the cyclin-dependent kinases inhibitor p21. Bath application of the PI3K inhibitor blocked FUT6-induced Akt phosphorylation, p21 suppression and cell proliferation. Our results suggest that FUT6 plays an important role in HCC growth by regulating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Qiya
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Yingming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Wenjun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Shenan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Shouyi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.forename: Yanhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005647:Fucosyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005647:Fucosyltransferases; C515956:FUT6 protein, human; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt