Ovarian Cancer and Glycosylation

Ovarian Cancer is the leading cause of death among all gynecologic malignancies, with more than 70% of women presenting with advanced-stage disease. As one of the most common types of protein modification, glycosylation has become a new hallmark of cancer. Several functions play a major role in carcinogenesis, including cell-matrix interaction, cell signaling and communication, tumor angiogenesis, immune modulation, and tumor metastasis. The genes involved in the glycosylation pathways include glycogenes or genes associated with glycan synthesis. Several studies support that cancer displays an aberrant expression of those glycogenes implicated in glycosylation; and certainly, changes in the expression of glycogenes or cell surface glycans have been related to cancer progression and prognosis. Aberrant glycan expression is caused by dysregulation of glycogene expression in cancer, thereby promoting tumorigenesis.

Fig.1 The functions of glycogen mobilization. (Dauer & Lengyel, 2019)

Glycogene Discovery Service in Ovarian Cancer

CD BioGlyco specializes in Cancer Glycogene research, providing customized glycogene discovery services in ovarian cancer. Our services are as follows:

• Discovery methods
  
  • Glycoprotein Structure Analysis
    Mass spectrometry (MS), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI-MS), liquid chromatography (LC), etc.
  • Identification and quantification of glycopeptides
    Analyzed by LC-MS/MS
  • Glycogene Expression Profiling Analysis
    The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq)
  • Glycan Analysis
    • Oligosaccharide separation: capillary electrophoresis (CE)
    • Glycan structures: mass spectrometry (MS), high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC)
    • Characterization and Quantitation of Glycan: liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometric (LC/ESI-MS), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS)
    • Capturation of specific glycan of the glycoproteins: Lectin-based technologies: Lectin Affinity Chromatography and lectin microarray.

Summary of Glycogenes Involved in Ovarian Cancer

• Chitinase-3-like protein1 (CHI3L1) is a potential prognostic biomarker for epithelial ovarian cancer and could protect cancer cells from apoptosis.
• Beta-galactoside alpha-2,6-sialyltransferase 1 (ST6GAL1) transfers sialic acid from CMP-sialic acid to galactose-containing acceptor substrates.
• Mucin16 (MUC16) is highly expressed in ovarian cancer tissues. CA125, encoded by MUC16, promotes cancer cell proliferation and inhibit anti-cancer immune responses.
• Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is reported to be overexpressed in ovarian cancer.
• TBC1D8 amplification drives tumorigenesis through metabolism reprogramming in ovarian cancer. It is involved in diseases, such as tumorigenesis, atopic dermatitis, viral and bacterial infection susceptibility, and diabetes.

Fig.2 Glycogene discovery methods in ovarian cancer. (CD BioGlyco)

Applications

• Through identifying specific tumor-associated alterations in glycosylation to find glycomics-based biomarkers, which could serve as a distinct feature of cancer in cancer diagnostics and prognostics.
• Comparative glycopeptide analysis of endogenous compounds to differentiate disease states from healthy states, or to better understand disease progression and pathology.

Advantages

• Customized services according to your requirements.
• The change in the glycogene level of cancer is beneficial to evaluate the effect of drugs, and whether it is resistant to drugs.
• Our team has deep scientific background knowledge and practical experience to provide a high level of service and solve complex problems.

CD BioGlyco specializes in cancer glycogene research to provide clients with first-class solutions. If you need attentive service, please feel free to contact us for more details.