HOMEPRODUCTSCOMPANYCONTACTFAQResearchDictionaryPharmaSign Up FREE or Login

Enhanced expression of sulfatide, a sulfated glycolipid, in well-differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma.

AbstractOBJECTIVES:
It is well known that a poorly differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma shows more rapid progression and a worse response to therapy than a well-differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma. Qualitative and quantitative changes of cell surface glycolipids occur during neoplastic transformation. Sulfatide is one of the sulfated glycolipids in the cell membrane that may have an important role in various functions such as cell adhesion. To examine the molecular background of the morphological and biological features of well-differentiated and poorly differentiated cancer, we measured the levels of lipids, especially glycolipids, in tumor tissues from patients with endometrial carcinoma.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
We determined the composition of lipids and glycolipids in tumor tissues, investigated glycosyltransferase messenger RNA expression by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and assessed the localization of galactosylceramide sulfotransferase (an enzyme involved in sulfatide biosynthesis) by immunohistochemical staining.
RESULTS:
No significant differences were observed between well-differentiated and poorly differentiated cancer with respect to the levels of cholesterol ester, cholesterol, phospholipids, cholesterol sulfate, ceramides, neutral glycolipids of the globo series, and GM3 ganglioside. However, the amount of sulfatides in well-differentiated tumors was significantly greater than that in poorly differentiated tumors, which was confirmed by thin-layer chromatography and immunostaining with a monoclonal antisulfatide antibody. Altered expression of sulfatide was found to be secondary to a change of galactosylceramide sulfotransferase messenger RNA expression. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that galactosylceramide sulfotransferase expression was characteristically observed in glandular areas but not in solid areas.
CONCLUSION:
These findings suggest that sulfatide contributes to the well-differentiated phenotype of endometrial adenocarcinoma and that it is being expressed in normal uterine endometrium at sites of gland formation during the luteal phase, as we have previously reported.
AuthorsTaro Sugiyama, Masaki Miyazawa, Mikio Mikami, Yumiko Goto, Yoshihiro Nishijima, Masae Ikeda, Takeshi Hirasawa, Toshinari Muramatsu, Susumu Takekoshi, Masao Iwamori
JournalInternational journal of gynecological cancer : official journal of the International Gynecological Cancer Society (Int J Gynecol Cancer) Vol. 22 Issue 7 Pg. 1192-7 (Sep 2012) ISSN: 1525-1438 [Electronic] England
PMID22801032 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
Chemical References
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Sulfoglycosphingolipids
  • Sulfotransferases
  • galactosylceramide sulfotransferase
Topics
  • Adenocarcinoma (metabolism, pathology)
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Chromatography, Thin Layer
  • Endometrial Neoplasms (metabolism, pathology)
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunoenzyme Techniques
  • Neoplasm Grading
  • Prognosis
  • RNA, Messenger (genetics)
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sulfoglycosphingolipids (metabolism)
  • Sulfotransferases (genetics, metabolism)

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.
Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!


Choose Username:
Email:
Password:
Verify Password:
Enter Code Shown: