Aberrant Sialylation in Cancers

Aberrant glycosylation is a common feature of cancer and includes O-glycan truncation as well as N- and O-linked glycan branching, aberrant sialylation, and fucosylation. CD BioGlyco has developed several efficient Strategies for Sialic Acid Analysis to help our clients’ research. Welcome clients from all over the world to cooperate with us!

Introduction

Sialylation is an important part of cell function, regulated by the activity and level of sialyltransferase on glycoproteins and glycolipids, and is involved in biological processes such as cell recognition, adhesion, molecular transport, and signal transduction. Excessive sialylation on cancer cells may be due to up-regulation of sialyltransferase, down-regulation of sialidase, or a combination of both, leading to accumulation of sialic acid on the cell surface, which promotes immune evasion, tumor metastasis, and reduced efficacy of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Abnormal sialylation is associated with a variety of cancers, such as head and neck cancer, cervical cancer, leukemia, lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, gastric cancer, melanoma, thyroid cancer, prostate cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Sialylated proteins and sialyltransferases are used as cancer biomarkers for cancer screening, detection, and staging. For example, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been approved for prostate cancer screening, α-fetoprotein for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis and monitoring, carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) for ovarian cancer detection, and thyroglobulin for the detection of thyroid cancer. ST6GAL1 (ST6 β-galactoside α-2,6-sialyltransferase 1) may have a prognostic role in ovarian cancer and may be used to identify patients with a high risk of chemotherapy resistance and metastatic recurrence. ST3GAL1 (ST3 β-galactoside α-2,3-sialyltransferase 1) is an influencing factor of recurrence and poor prognosis in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Sialic Acid Analysis in Cancers

CD BioGlyco provides high-quality sialic acid analysis services in cancer by different strategies. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us for more information.

References:

1. Pietrobono, S.; Stecca, B. Aberrant sialylation in cancer: biomarker and potential target for therapeutic intervention?. Cancers. 2021, 13(9): 2014.
2. Zhou, X.; et al. Biological functions and analytical strategies of sialic acids in tumor. Cells. 2020, 9(2): 273.