Lewis Antigens (lewi + antigen)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Insulin/protein kinase B signalling pathway upregulates metastasis-related phenotypes and molecules in H7721 human hepatocarcinoma cell line

FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 18 2003
Hui-Ling Qi
The effect of insulin on cancer metastatic potential was studied in a human hepatocarcinoma cell line, H7721. Cell adhesion to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and laminin as well as chemotactic cell migration and invasion were selected as the indices of metastasis-related phenotypes for assessment of metastatic potential ex vivo. The results indicated that insulin enhanced all of these metastasis-related phenotypes. After the cells were treated with specific inhibitor of PI3K (LY294002) or transfected with antisense cDNA of PKB (AS-PKB), all of the above phenotypes were attenuated, and they could not be significantly stimulated by insulin, indicating that the insulin effect on metastatic potential was mediated by PI3K and PKB. Only the monoclonal antibody to the sialyl Lewis X (SLex), but not antibodies to other Lewis antigens, significantly blocked the cell adhesion to HUVECs, cell migration and invasion, suggesting that SLex played a crucial role in the metastatic potential of H7721 cells. The upregulation of cell surface SLex and ,-1,3-fucosyltransferase-VII (,-1,3 Fuc T-VII, enzyme for SLex synthesis) was also mediated by PI3K and PKB, since LY294002 and AS-PKB also reduced the expressions of SLex and ,-1,3 FucT-VII, and attenuated the response to insulin. Furthermore, the alterations in the expressions of PKB protein and activity were correlated to the changes of metastatic phenotypes and SLex expression. Taken together, the insulin/PKB signalling pathway participated in the enhancement of metastatic potential of H7721 cells, which was mediated by the upregulation of the expression of SLex and ,-1,3 FucT-VII. [source]


Transfection of the c- erbB2/neu gene upregulates the expression of sialyl Lewis X, ,1,3-fucosyltransferase VII, and metastatic potential in a human hepatocarcinoma cell line

FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 12 2001
Fei Liu
The pCMV4 plasmid containing the cancer-promoting gene, c- erbB2/neu, was cotransfected into the human hepatocarcinoma cell line 7721 with the pcDNA3 vector, which contains the ,neo' selectable marker. Several clones showing stable expression of c- erbB2/neu were established and characterized by determination of c- erbB2/neu mRNA and its encoded protein p185. Expression of Lewis antigens and ,1,3-fucosyltransferases and the biological behavior of 7721 cells after c- erbB2/neu transfection were studied using mock cells transfected with the vectors pCMV4 and pcDNA3 as controls. SLex expression on the surface of mock cells was high, whereas expression of SDLex, Lex and SLea was absent or negligible. This is compatible with the abundant expression of ,1,3-fucosyltransferase VII, very low expression of ,fucosyltransferase III/VI, and almost absent expression of ,1,3-fucosyltransferase IV in the mock cells. After transfection of c- erbB2/neu, expression of SLex and ,1,3-fucosyltransferase VII were simultaneously elevated, but that of ,fucosyltransferase III/VI was not altered. The expression of both SLex and ,1,3-fucosyltransferase VII correlated positively with the expression of c- erbB2/neu in different clones, being highest in clone 13, medium in clone 6, and lowest in clone 7. In addition, the adhesion of 7721 cells to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) or P-selectin, as well as cell migration and invasion, were increased in c- erbB2/neu -transfected cells. These increases also correlated positively with the expression intensities of c- erbB2/neu, SLex and ,1,3-fucosyltransferase VII in the different clones, whereas cell adhesion to fibronectin correlated negatively with these variables. mAbs to SLex (KM93) and SDLex (FH6) significantly and slightly, respectively, abolished cell adhesion to HUVECs or P-selectin and cell migration and invasion. mAbs to SDLex and SLea did not suppress cell adhesion to HUVECs nor inhibit cell migration and invasion. Transfection of ,1,3-fucosyltransferase VII cDNA into 7721 cells showed similar results to transfection of c- erbB2/neu, and the increased adhesion to HUVECs, cell migration, and invasion were also inhibited significantly by KM93 and slightly by FH6. These results indicate that expression of ,1,3-fucosyltransferase VII and its specific product, SLex, and their capacity for cell adhesion, migration and invasion are closely related. Therefore, the c- erbB2/neu gene is proposed to be a metastasis-promoting gene, and its effects are at least partially mediated by the increased expression of ,1,3-fucosyltransferase VII and SLex. [source]


Pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori infection

HELICOBACTER, Issue 2002
Markus Gerhard
Five years after publication of the complete genome sequence of Helicobacter pylori, research interest is shifting from the descriptive association of virulence factors with clinical outcome in infected patients to the molecular mechanisms of virulence factor action. This is particularly noticeable for VacA and CagA, for both of which detailed understanding of the interaction with host signalling pathways has accumulated over the last year. The role of H. pylori Lewis antigens for clinical outcome was further substantiated. Various strategies of H. pylori to fool or evade the human immune system are described, which all lead to the dysfunction of specific compartments of the host cellular immune system. Finally, a number of animal models indicate that inflammation is a key factor for gastric carcinogenesis, which is finally supported by a large prospective study identifying corpus atrophy and intestinal metaplasia as precancerous conditions. [source]


Different Helicobacter pylori Strains Colonize the Antral and Duodenal Mucosa of Duodenal Ulcer Patients

HELICOBACTER, Issue 2 2000
Ann-Catrin E. Thoreson
Background. We have investigated the possibility that the same patients may be colonized by Helicobacter pylori strains of different genotypes or phenotypes in the antrum as compared to in the duodenum. The strains were typed for DNA fingerprints, different lipopolysaccharides (LPS), and Lewis antigen expression on the O,side chains of LPS. Materials and Methods. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifications using primer sequences (i.e., the Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus [ERIC]) and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) elements were performed to asses chromosomal DNA diversity between H. pylori strains. The expression of different LPS types and Lewis antigens in the various H. pylori isolates were determined by whole bacterial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using monoclonal antibodies. Results. Duodenal ulcer patients had different H. pylori genotypes in the duodenum as compared to in the antrum as shown by ERIC-PCR (44%) and by RAPD-PCR (75%). Different DNA patterns were found among the strains that were isolated from various regions of the duodenum in 4 of 16 patients (25%) as shown by ERIC-PCR and in 8 of 16 patients (50%) as shown by RAPD-PCR. Sixty-three percent of the duodenal ulcer patients had H. pylori strains with a different Lewis antigen phenotype in the duodenum as compared to in the antrum, and 3 of 16 patients (19%) had strains with different Lewis antigens expressed by strains from different duodenal biopsies from the same patient. Conclusion. The results suggest that a mixed population of different H. pylori strains with marked variation, both genotypically and phenotypically, colonize the same patient. [source]


Association of peptic ulcer with increased expression of Lewis antigens, but not vacuolating cytotoxin activity or babA2 gene status, in Helicobacter pylori strains from China

JOURNAL OF DIGESTIVE DISEASES, Issue 1 2006
Peng Yuan ZHENG
OBJECTIVE: Controversies exist regarding the virulence factors, such as vacA, babA2 and Lewis blood group antigens, of Western and Asian strains of Helicobacter pylori. The aim of the present study was to determine the significance of these potential virulence factors in the Chinese population. METHODS: Seventy-two strains of H. pylori isolated from patients in Zhengzhou, China, including 43 cases of peptic ulcer (PU) and 29 cases of chronic gastritis, were determined. Vacuolating cytotoxin assay was performed by HeLa cells. The expression of Le blood group antigens (Lea, Leb, Lex and Ley) was performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). babA2 gene was identified by polymerase chain reaction. Frequencies were compared using two-tailed Fisher's exact test. Cytotoxin activities were compared using Spearman's rank correction test. RESULTS: Vacuolating cytotoxin activity was detected in 61 of the 72 strains (84.7%), but there was no significant difference in vacuolating cytotoxin activity (83.7% vs 86.2%, P = 0.821) or titer (4.4 ± 3.8 vs 4.2 ± 4.1, P = 0.876) between the PU and gastritis strains. Significantly more PU strains expressed two or more Lewis antigens (Lex, Ley, Lea or Leb) than strains from the chronic gastritis patients (90.7% vs 65.5%, P = 0.029). Of the 43 strains from PU patients, 17 (39.5%) were positive for babA2, compared with 11 (38.5%) of the 29 strains from gastritis patients (P = 0.924). There was no significant difference in the vacuolating cytotoxin activity or titer between strains expressing two or more Lewis antigens and less than two antigens (84.5% vs 85.7%, P = 1.000; 4.4 ± 4.2 vs 4.3 ± 3.2, P = 0.965). Of the 72 H. pylori strains, 28 were babA2 positive, of which 24 were cytotoxic, compared with 37 of 44 babA2-negative strains (P = 1.000). CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that PU is associated with increased Lewis antigen expression, but not vacuolating cytotoxin production or the presence of babA2, in the H. pylori strains in the Chinese population. [source]


Changes in the invasive and metastatic capacities of HT-29/M3 cells induced by the expression of fucosyltransferase 1

CANCER SCIENCE, Issue 7 2007
Raquel Mejías-Luque
Lewis antigens are terminal fucosylated oligosaccharides synthesized by the sequential action of several glycosyltransferases. The fucosyltransferases are the enzymes responsible for the addition of terminal fucose to precursor oligosaccharides attached to proteins or lipids. These oligosaccharides, defined as cell surface markers, have been implicated in different types of intercellular interactions and in adhesion and invasion processes. Transfection of HT-29/M3 colon cancer cells with the full length of human fucosyltransferase (FUT1), induces the synthesis of H type 2 and Lewis y antigens, associated with a decrease of sialyl-Lewis x. The capacity to develop primary tumors when cells were injected intrasplenically was similar in parental and FUT1-transfected cells, but the capacity to colonize the liver after spleen removal was significantly reduced in M3/FUT1 transfected cells. These results indicate that the expression of FUT1 induces changes in the metastatic capacity of HT-29/M3 colon cancer cells, as a consequence of the altered expression pattern of type 2 Lewis antigens. Also, an association between MUC5AC expression and the degree of gland differentiation in both primary splenic tumors and hepatic metastases was detected. (Cancer Sci 2007; 98: 1000,1005) [source]