Cell surface
glycans change during the process of malignant transformation. To characterize and distinguish
endometrial cancer and endometrium, we performed
glycan profiling using an emerging modern technology,
lectin microarray analysis. The three cell lines, two from
endometrial cancers [well-differentiated type (G1) and poorly differentiated type (G3)] and one from normal endometrium, were successfully categorized into three independent groups by 45
lectins. Furthermore, in
cancer cells, a clear difference between G1 and G3 type was observed for the
glycans recognized with six
lectins, Ulex europaeus
agglutinin I (UEA-I), Sambucus sieboldiana
agglutinin (SSA), Sambucus nigra
agglutinin (SNA), Trichosanthes japonica
agglutinin I (TJA-I), Amaranthus caudatus
agglutinin (ACA), and
Bauhinia purpurea lectin (BPL). The
lectin microarray analysis using G3 type tissues demonstrated that stage I and stage III or IV were distinguished depending on signal pattern of three
lectins,
Dolichos biflorus agglutinin (DBA), BPL, and ACA. In addition, the analysis of the
glycans on the
ovarian cancer cells showed that only anticancer
drug-sensitive cell lines had almost no activities to specific three
lectins.
Glycan profiling by the
lectin microarray may be used to assess the characteristics of
tumors and potentially to predict the success of
chemotherapy treatment.