Shirasuna K, Furusawa H, Morioka S, Watatani K, Matsuya T
First Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Osaka University Faculty of Dentistry, Japan.
Virchows Arch B Cell Pathol Incl Mol Pathol. 1989;57(3):175-80. doi: 10.1007/BF02899079.
The glycosaminoglycans (GAG) biosynthesized by a neoplastic human salivary duct cell line, HSGc, and by its nontumorigenic subclone, HSGc-E1, having a myoepithelial-like phenotype, were examined by incorporation of [3H]-acetate into GAG. The rate of GAG radiolabeling in HSGc-E1 was significantly greater than that in HSGc. The radiolabeled GAG recovered from HSGc-E1 showed a distribution of 22-32% in the cells and 68-78% secreted into the medium, while the amounts of GAG in the cells and medium of HSGc were equal. Two-dimensional electrophoresis of GAG extracted from the cells demonstrated that HSGc-E1 contained a much greater amount of heparan sulfate (HS, 53.5% of total), while HSGc synthesized hyaluronic acid (HA, 17.5%), HS 38.8%, chondroitin sulfate (Ch-S, 27.6%) and dermatan sulfate (DS, 16.1%). Moreover, treatment of HSGc with sodium butyrate or dibutyryl cyclic AMP (each is a potent inducer of differentiation to myoepithelial-like cells) strongly enhanced GAG synthesis, while dexamethasone (an inducer of differentiation to a more functional duct epithelium) did not stimulate GAG synthesis. These findings suggest that biosynthetic changes in the GAG content of neoplastic salivary cells are associated with their myoepithelial differentiation.
