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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Isolation and Characterization of a Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Subpopulation Having Stem Cell Characteristics
Published on: May 11, 2016
Identification of stemness-related glycosylation changes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
E Routila1,2,3, R Mahran4,5,6, S Salminen4,5
1Department of Life Technologies, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520, Turku, Finland. erica.routila@utu.fi.
Background:
Altered glycosylation is a hallmark of cancer associated with therapy resistance and tumor behavior. In this study, we investigated the glycosylation profile of stemness-related proteins OCT4, CIP2A, MET, and LIMA1 in HNSCC tumors.
Methods:
Tumor, adjacent normal tissue, and blood samples of 25 patients were collected together with clinical details. After tissue processing, lectin-based glycovariant screens were performed.
Results:
Strong correlation between glycosylation profiles of all four stemness-related proteins was observed in tumor tissue, whereas glycosylation in tumor tissue, adjacent normal tissue, and serum was differential.
Conclusions:
A mannose- and galactose-rich glycosylation niche associated with stemness-related proteins was identified.

