Sialyltransferases have received much attention recently as they are frequently up-regulated in
cancer cells. However, the role played by each
sialyltransferase in tumour progression is still unknown. α2,3-Sialyltransferases
ST3Gal III and
ST3Gal IV are involved in
sialyl-Lewis(x) (
SLe(x)) synthesis. Given that the role of
ST3Gal III in pancreatic
adenocarcinoma cells has been previously reported, in this study we have focused on investigating the role of
ST3Gal IV in the acquisition of adhesive, migratory and metastatic capabilities and, secondly, in analyzing the expression of
ST3Gal III and
ST3Gal IV in pancreatic
adenocarcinoma tissues versus control tissues.
ST3Gal IV overexpressing pancreatic
adenocarcinoma MDAPanc-28 cell lines were generated. They showed a heterogeneous increase in
SLe(x), and enhanced
E-selectin adhesion and migration. Furthermore, when injected into nude mice, increased
metastasis and decreased survival were found in comparison with controls. The behaviour of MDAPanc-28
ST3Gal IV overexpressing cells in these processes was similar to the already reported MDAPanc-28
ST3Gal III overexpressing cells. Furthermore, pancreatic
adenocarcinoma tissues tended to express high levels of
ST3Gal III and
ST3Gal IV together with other
fucosyltransferase genes FUT3 and FUT6, all involved in the last steps of
sialyl-Lewis(x) biosynthesis. In conclusion, both α2,3-sialyltransferases are involved in key steps of pancreatic tumour progression processes and are highly expressed in most pancreatic
adenocarcinoma tissues.