| First Author | Schultz MJ | Year | 2016 |
| Journal | Cancer Res | Volume | 76 |
| Issue | 13 | Pages | 3978-88 |
| PubMed ID | 27216178 | Mgi Jnum | J:232779 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5780222 | Doi | 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-15-2834 |
| Citation | Schultz MJ, et al. (2016) The Tumor-Associated Glycosyltransferase ST6Gal-I Regulates Stem Cell Transcription Factors and Confers a Cancer Stem Cell Phenotype. Cancer Res 76(13):3978-88 |
| abstractText | The glycosyltransferase ST6Gal-I, which adds alpha2-6-linked sialic acids to substrate glycoproteins, has been implicated in carcinogenesis; however, the nature of its pathogenic role remains poorly understood. Here we show that ST6Gal-I is upregulated in ovarian and pancreatic carcinomas, enriched in metastatic tumors, and associated with reduced patient survival. Notably, ST6Gal-I upregulation in cancer cells conferred hallmark cancer stem-like cell (CSC) characteristics. Modulating ST6Gal-I expression in pancreatic and ovarian cancer cells directly altered CSC spheroid growth, and clonal variants with high ST6Gal-I activity preferentially survived in CSC culture. Primary ovarian cancer cells from patient ascites or solid tumors sorted for alpha2-6 sialylation grew as spheroids, while cells lacking alpha2-6 sialylation remained as single cells and lost viability. ST6Gal-I also promoted resistance to gemcitabine and enabled the formation of stably resistant colonies. Gemcitabine treatment of patient-derived xenograft tumors enriched for ST6Gal-I-expressing cells relative to pair-matched untreated tumors. ST6Gal-I also augmented tumor-initiating potential. In limiting dilution assays, subcutaneous tumor formation was inhibited by ST6Gal-I knockdown, whereas in a chemically induced tumor initiation model, mice with conditional ST6Gal-I overexpression exhibited enhanced tumorigenesis. Finally, we found that ST6Gal-I induced expression of the key tumor-promoting transcription factors, Sox9 and Slug. Collectively, this work highlighted a previously unrecognized role for a specific glycosyltransferase in driving a CSC state. Cancer Res; 76(13); 3978-88. (c)2016 AACR. |
