Fucosylated type‐2 chain polylactosamine antigens in human lung cancer

Abstract

Four specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have been used to study distributions of fucosylated type-2 chain polylactosamine antigens, Lex, poly Lex, Ley and sialylated Lex-i antigens, in human lung cancer tissues and in the serum of patients with lung cancers. Radioimmunoassay frequently showed abnormally high antigen levels in the sera of 66 lung cancer patients tested. When histological typing was performed, high serum levels of the above 4 antigens were most frequently observed in patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung; i.e., after combining the results from the 4 antigens, 75% of the sera from patients with lung adenocarcinoma were positive (50% in the case of large-cell carcinoma, 30% in the case of squamous-cell carcinoma and 27% for small-cell carcinoma). Among the 4 antigens, the sialylated Lex-i antigen had the highest positive incidence, 58%, in the sera of patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung, compared to 33% for Ley, 29% for poly Lex, and 8% for Lex antigen. On the other hand, when the distributions of these antigens in the lung cancer tissues of 42 patients were studied by immunohistological techniques, the Ley antigen had the highest positive incidence, 100%, in lung adenocarcinoma tissues, poly Lex antigen had 86%, sialylated Lex-i antigen had 71%, and Lex antigen had 29%. In cancer tissues, the incidence of non-sialylated antigens, such as Ley, poly Lex and Lex antigens, often exceeds the positive incidence of the sialylated antigen, but the sialylated form of the antigen, such as sialylated Lex-i antigen, appears more often than the non-sialylated form in patients' sera.

Studies on mechanism of Sialy Lewis-X antigen in liver metastases of human colorectal carcinoma

“…SLeX antigens are mostly expressed on the cell surface of epithelial tumors such as lung cancer, gastric cancer, colon cancer, ovary cancer [11,12] . The positive ratio in carcinoma of colon is 76%-90% [1,13] .…”

Elevated Sialyl Lewis X-i Antigen Levels in Pleural Effusions in Patients with Carcinomatous Pleuritis.

“…The present study revealed that the levels of SLXin pleural effusions in patients with lung adenocarcinoma were higher than those of benign diseases, lung cancer other colon, and pancreas (6-10). An immunohistochemical study revealed that SLX and the related antigens are frequently expressed in lung adenocarcinoma (9). A possible explanation for the elevated SLXin pleural effusion in patients with lung adenocarcinomamight be mainly due to such a specific relation between the antigen and lung adenocarcinoma.…”

“…However, their usefulness in the diagnosis of pleural effusions has not been fully established. Sialyl Lewis X-i antigen (SLX), one of the cancer-associated carbohydrate antigens is knownto appear in the serum of patients with various cancers, especially with adenocarcinoma of the lung, and can be used clinically to diagnose non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (6)(7)(8)(9)(10). However, there have been few reports evaluating the levels of SLXin carcinomatous pleural effusions (ll, 12).…”

Occurrence of α1‐2‐fucosylation in membrane glycoproteins of Morris hepatoma 7777 but not in liver

“…Fucose, a1,2 linked to galactose has been characterized in oligosaccharides and glycoasparagines in tissues and urine components of patients suffering from fucosidosis [60 -631. This structure determinant has also been found in liver metastases of colon carcinoma [64], urothelial carcinoma [65], human lung cancer [9] and various types of human adenocarcinomas [66 -681 and has been characterized as Ley-antigen by use of monoclonal antibodies [65,66,69,701. Ley-antigens are the dominant type-2-chain antigens in invasive transitional-cell carcinomas [65], and the level of this antigen was significantly higher in the sera of patients suffering from hepatoma [71].…”

“…An altered expression of fucosylated blood-group antigens has been indicated in colorectal carcinoma [2] and in human lung cancer [9]. An increased activity of fucosyltransferases has been reported in many tumours and the serum of tumour patients, or tumour-bearing animals [lo-121, where it contributes to the changed oligosaccharide structures of tumour tissues.…”