Glycosphingolipids from the ganglio-series are usually classified in four series according to the presence of 0 to 3
sialic acid residues linked to
lactosylceramide. The transfer of
sialic acid is catalyzed in the Golgi apparatus by specific
sialyltransferases that show high specificity toward
glycolipid substrates. ST8Sia I (EC 2.4.99.8, SAT-II, SIAT 8a) is the key
enzyme controlling the biosynthesis of b- and c-series
gangliosides. ST8Sia I is expressed at early developmental stages whereas in adult human tissues, ST8Sia I transcripts are essentially detected in brain. ST8Sia I together with b- and c-series
gangliosides are also over-expressed in neuroectoderm-derived malignant
tumors such as
melanoma,
glioblastoma,
neuroblastoma and in
estrogen receptor (ER) negative
breast cancer, where they play a role in cell proliferation, migration, adhesion and angiogenesis. We have stably expressed ST8Sia I in MCF-7
breast cancer cells and analyzed the
glycosphingolipid composition of wild type (WT) and GD3S+ clones. As shown by mass spectrometry, MCF-7 expressed a complex pattern of neutral and sialylated
glycosphingolipids from globo- and ganglio-series. WT MCF-7 cells exhibited classical monosialylated
gangliosides including G(M3), G(M2), and G(M1a). In parallel, the expression of ST8Sia I in MCF-7 GD3S+ clones resulted in a dramatic change in
ganglioside composition, with the expression of b- and c-series
gangliosides as well as unusual tetra- and pentasialylated
lactosylceramide derivatives G(Q3) (II(3)Neu5Ac(4)-Gg(2)Cer) and G(P3) (II(3)Neu5Ac(5)-Gg(2)Cer). This indicates that ST8Sia I is able to act as an oligosialyltransferase in a cellular context.