title: α2,6-linked sialic acids on N-glycans modulate the adhesion of hepatocarcinoma cells to lymph nodes.
abstract: The alterations of cell surface sialylation play a key role in tumor metastasis. Enhanced α2,6-sialylation on N-glycans results from overexpression of the sialyltransferase ST6Gal-I. Hca-F and Hca-P cells are murine hepatocarcinoma cell lines which metastasize only to the lymph nodes. Our previous study revealed that ST6Gal-I was involved in the adhesion of Hca-F cells to fibronectin. However, the roles of sialic acids in the adhesion of Hca-F cells to lymph nodes still remain poorly understood. In this study, we observed that expression levels of α2,6-linked sialic acids on Hca-F cells were higher compared to Hca-P cells. Knockdown of ST6Gal-I by small hairpin RNA (shRNA) transfection decreased the expression of α2,6-linked sialic acids and inhibited the adhesion of Hca-F cells to lymph nodes. The adhesion ability was reported to be mediated by siglec-2 which preferentially binds to α2,6-linked sialic acids, and in addition, ST6Gal-I knockdown inhibited the phosphorylated levels of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and paxillin when cells were treated with siglec-2. Taken together, these results suggest that interaction of α2,6-linked sialic acids with siglec-2 might modulate the adhesion of hepatocarcinoma cells to lymph nodes through the FAK signaling pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Glycobiology, Dalian Medical University, Lvshun South Road, Dalian, 116044, Liaoning Province, China.
authors.forename: Shujing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xixi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Anwen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Bachir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Niang
authors.forename: Jianing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000235:genetics; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000378:metabolism; D051417:Focal Adhesion Kinase 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000378:metabolism*; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D012799:Sialyltransferases / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D000094802:beta-D-Galactoside alpha 2-6-Sialyltransferase
chemical_list: D005353:Fibronectins; D011134:Polysaccharides; D012794:Sialic Acids; D012799:Sialyltransferases; D051417:Focal Adhesion Kinase 1; D000094802:beta-D-Galactoside alpha 2-6-Sialyltransferase