The new face of nucleolin in human melanoma.

Abstract

Nucleolin is multifunctional protein mainly present in nucleoli but also detected in cytoplasm and plasma membranes. Extranuclear nucleolin differs from the nuclear form by its glycosylation. Studies on expression of nucleolin in breast cancer suggest a possible association to the metastatic cascade. In the present study, Vicia villosa lectin (VVL) precipitation followed by subsequent polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry analysis demonstrates nucleolin as a VVL-positive glycoprotein expressed in melanoma. The presence of VVL-positive nucleolin in the melanoma cell membrane and cytoplasm was confirmed by confocal microscopy. Using bioinformatic peptide prediction programs, nucleolin was shown to contain multiple possible MHC class-I binding peptides in its sequence which makes nucleolin an interesting melanoma marker and target for immunodiagnostic and possibly therapeutic purposes.

• Authors: Dorota Hoja-Łukowicz, Małgorzata Przybyło, Ewa Pocheć, Anna Drabik, Jerzy Silberring, Marcelina Kremser, Dirk Schadendorf, Piotr Laidler, Anna Lityńska
• Journal: Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII (Cancer Immunol Immunother) Vol. 58 Issue 9 Pg. 1471-80 (Sep 2009) ISSN: 1432-0851 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 19363676 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate
• Glycoproteins
• Phosphoproteins
• Plant Lectins
• RNA-Binding Proteins
• Tn antigen
• Vicia lectins
• nucleolin

Topics

• Amino Acid Sequence
• Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate (metabolism)
• Blotting, Western
• Cell Membrane (metabolism)
• Cell Nucleolus (metabolism)
• Computational Biology
• Cytoplasm (metabolism)
• Fluorescent Antibody Technique
• Genes, MHC Class I
• Glycoproteins (metabolism)
• Humans
• Immunoblotting
• Immunoenzyme Techniques
• Mass Spectrometry
• Melanoma (metabolism)
• Molecular Sequence Data
• Phosphoproteins (metabolism)
• Plant Lectins (chemistry, metabolism)
• RNA-Binding Proteins (metabolism)
• Skin Neoplasms (metabolism)
• Tumor Cells, Cultured