title: Aberrant sialylation and fucosylation of intracellular proteins in cervical tissue are critical markers of cervical carcinogenesis.
abstract: Numerous studies have suggested that increased sialylation and fucosylation levels are signs of cancer progression. The majority of studies have focused on cell surface and bloodstream glycosylation changes associated with cancer progression, while little attention has been paid to changes in the glycosylation of cytosolic proteins. We compared the mannosylation, sialylation and fucosylation levels of cytosolic proteins obtained from human cervical tissues without neoplastic lesions vs. with cancer, using lectin blot and enzyme-linked lectin assay (ELLA) systems. There were no quantitative differences in mannosylation levels between the cytosolic proteins of normal and cancer tissues. However, we found markedly reduced sialylation (P<0.001) and fucosylation (P<0.01) in the proteins of cancer tissues. The ELLA system for detecting sialylation had extremely high sensitivity (91-100%) and specificity (82-100%) in distinguishing normal and cancer tissues. Thus, the changes in the glycosylation of cytosolic proteins during carcinogenesis of the cervix are quite different from previous observations concerning glycoconjugates in the bloodstream or on the cell surface. We suggest that changes in the glycosylation of intracellular proteins may be useful markers of the development of cervical cancer.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyoung Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Cheol
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Woong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ju
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yun Hwan
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sun Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hong-Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005643:Fucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006031:Glycosylation; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D006023:Glycoproteins; D005643:Fucose; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid