title: Absence of the Epithelial Glycocalyx As Potential Tumor Marker for the Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer.
abstract: Detection of cancer at an early stage is pivotal for successful treatment and long term survival, yet early diagnosis requires sensitive and specific markers that can be easily detected by screening procedures. Differences in the surface structure of tumor and healthy cells, if sufficiently pronounced and discernible, may serve that purpose. We analyzed the luminal surface of healthy and neoplastic human colorectal tissues for the presence and architecture of the glycocalyx-a dense network of highly glycosylated proteins-using transmission electron microscopy. The ultrastructural analyses showed that 93% of healthy mucosae were covered by an intact glycocalyx. Contrarily, on over 90% of the surface of neoplastic cells the glycocalyx was absent. The sensitivity and specificity of our marker "absence of a glycocalyx" are excellent, being 91% (83-96%) and 96% (89-99%) for adenocarcinomas and 94% (73-100%) and 92% (85-97%) for precancerous polyps (means and 95% confidence intervals). Using a cell culture model we could demonstrate that a particulate probe targeting a cell surface receptor usually concealed beneath the glycocalyx can bind selectively to glycocalyx-free areas of a tumor cell layer. We propose that the absence of a glycocalyx may serve as novel type of tumor marker. If the absence of the glycocalyx can be detected e.g. via binding of imaging probes to non-shielded surface receptors of anomalously differentiated cells, this tumor marker could be used to enable early diagnosis of colorectal cancer.
authors.affiliation: Division of Mucosal Immunology and Diagnostics, Priority Area Asthma & Allergy, Research Center Borstel, Airway Research Center North (ARCN), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Borstel, Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ramaker
authors.affiliation: Division of Mucosal Immunology and Diagnostics, Priority Area Asthma & Allergy, Research Center Borstel, Airway Research Center North (ARCN), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Borstel, Germany.
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bade
authors.affiliation: Division of Mucosal Immunology and Diagnostics, Priority Area Asthma & Allergy, Research Center Borstel, Airway Research Center North (ARCN), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Borstel, Germany.
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Röckendorf
authors.affiliation: Division of Mucosal Immunology and Diagnostics, Priority Area Asthma & Allergy, Research Center Borstel, Airway Research Center North (ARCN), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Borstel, Germany.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meckelein
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical and Experimental Pathology, Department of Medicine, Research Center Borstel, Airway Research Center North (ARCN), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Borstel, Germany.
authors.forename: Ekkehard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vollmer
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical and Experimental Pathology, Department of Medicine, Research Center Borstel, Airway Research Center North (ARCN), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Borstel, Germany.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schultz
authors.affiliation: Asklepios Clinic, Bad Oldesloe, Germany.
authors.forename: Günter-Willi
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Fröschle
authors.affiliation: Division of Mucosal Immunology and Diagnostics, Priority Area Asthma & Allergy, Research Center Borstel, Airway Research Center North (ARCN), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Borstel, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frey
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D019276:Glycocalyx / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface