Sulfolipids and glycolipid sulfotransferase activities in human renal cell carcinoma cells.

A cell line (SMKT-R3) established from human renal cell carcinoma was characterized for the presence of sulfolipids and glycolipid sulfotransferases. Sulfolipids were found to constitute a large part of the acidic glycolipid fraction in SMKT-R3 cells. These findings were confirmed by metabolic labelling with 35S-sulfate. These sulfolipids were expressed at the surface of SMKT-R3 cells as ascertained by cytofluorometry using a monoclonal antibody directed to sulfolipids. Furthermore, markedly high activity levels of glycolipid sulfotransferases were observed in SMKT-R3 cells compared with other cell lines. These results suggest that the increased synthesis of sulfolipids in renal cell carcinoma tissue (Sakakibara et al., 1989. Cancer Res., 49, 335-339) is due to the elevation of the sulfotransferase activities of renal carcinoma cells themselves.