Anugraham Merrina, Jacob Francis, Nixdorf Sheri, Everest-Dass Arun Vijay, Heinzelmann-Schwarz Viola, Packer Nicolle H
From the ‡Department of Chemistry & Biomolecular Sciences, Biomolecular Frontiers Research Centre, Faculty of Science, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Sydney, Australia;
§Gynaecological Research Group, Department of Biomedicine, Women's University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Basel 4003, Switzerland; ¶Ovarian Cancer Group, Adult Cancer Program, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Sydney, Australia.
Mol Cell Proteomics. 2014 Sep;13(9):2213-32. doi: 10.1074/mcp.M113.037085. Epub 2014 May 22.
Epithelial ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer in women worldwide bearing the highest mortality rate among all gynecological cancers. Cell membrane glycans mediate various cellular processes such as cell signaling and become altered during carcinogenesis. The extent to which glycosylation changes are influenced by aberrant regulation of gene expression is nearly unknown for ovarian cancer and remains crucial in understanding the development and progression of this disease. To address this effect, we analyzed the membrane glycosylation of non-cancerous ovarian surface epithelial (HOSE 6.3 and HOSE 17.1) and serous ovarian cancer cell lines (SKOV 3, IGROV1, A2780, and OVCAR 3), the most common histotype among epithelial ovarian cancers. N-glycans were released from membrane glycoproteins by PNGase F and analyzed using nano-liquid chromatography on porous graphitized carbon and negative-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Glycan structures were characterized based on their molecular masses and tandem MS fragmentation patterns. We identified characteristic glycan features that were unique to the ovarian cancer membrane proteins, namely the "bisecting N-acetyl-glucosamine" type N-glycans, increased levels of α 2-6 sialylated N-glycans and "N,N'-diacetyl-lactosamine" type N-glycans. These N-glycan changes were verified by examining gene transcript levels of the enzymes specific for their synthesis (MGAT3, ST6GAL1, and B4GALNT3) using qRT-PCR. We further evaluated the potential epigenetic influence on MGAT3 expression by treating the cell lines with 5-azacytidine, a DNA methylation inhibitor. For the first time, we provide evidence that MGAT3 expression may be epigenetically regulated by DNA hypomethylation, leading to the synthesis of the unique "bisecting GlcNAc" type N-glycans on the membrane proteins of ovarian cancer cells. Linking the observation of specific N-glycan substructures and their complex association with epigenetic programming of their associated synthetic enzymes in ovarian cancer could potentially be used for the development of novel anti-glycan drug targets and clinical diagnostic tools.
上皮性卵巢癌是全球女性中第五大常见癌症病因,在所有妇科癌症中死亡率最高。细胞膜聚糖介导多种细胞过程,如细胞信号传导,并且在致癌过程中会发生改变。对于卵巢癌而言,糖基化变化受基因表达异常调控影响的程度几乎未知,而这对于理解该疾病的发生和发展仍然至关重要。为了研究这种影响,我们分析了非癌性卵巢表面上皮细胞系(HOSE 6.3和HOSE 17.1)以及浆液性卵巢癌细胞系(SKOV 3、IGROV1、A2780和OVCAR 3)的膜糖基化情况,浆液性卵巢癌是上皮性卵巢癌中最常见的组织学类型。通过PNGase F从膜糖蛋白中释放N -聚糖,并使用多孔石墨化碳上的纳升液相色谱和负离子电喷雾电离质谱(ESI - MS)进行分析。基于聚糖的分子量和串联质谱碎片模式对聚糖结构进行表征。我们鉴定出卵巢癌膜蛋白特有的特征性聚糖特征,即“平分型N - 乙酰葡糖胺”型N -聚糖、α 2 - 6唾液酸化N -聚糖水平升高以及“N,N'-二乙酰乳糖胺”型N -聚糖。通过使用qRT - PCR检测其合成特异性酶(MGAT3、ST6GAL1和B4GALNT3)的基因转录水平,验证了这些N -聚糖变化。我们通过用DNA甲基化抑制剂5 -氮杂胞苷处理细胞系,进一步评估了对MGAT3表达的潜在表观遗传影响。我们首次提供证据表明,MGAT3表达可能受DNA低甲基化的表观遗传调控,导致卵巢癌细胞膜蛋白上合成独特的“平分型GlcNAc”型N -聚糖。将卵巢癌中特定N -聚糖亚结构的观察结果及其与相关合成酶的表观遗传编程的复杂关联联系起来,可能会用于开发新型抗聚糖药物靶点和临床诊断工具。