[Ectopic expression of carbohydrate antigens that determine the metastatic potential of human colorectal carcinoma]

Highly malignant and metastatic tumor cells are thought to arise within primary tumors and become predominant during cancer progression. We demonstrated, by the analysis of > 500 surgical specimens, that colorectal carcinomas with increased metastatic potential were characterized by an increased expression of sialyl-Le(x) antigens expressed on mucins. The biological role of sialyl-Le(x) antigens expressed on mucins produced by colon carcinoma cells has been investigated using variant cell lines selected for their expression of this antigen. KM12-HX and KM12-LX, high and low expresser variant cells, differed in their metastatic potential in nude mice after intrasplenic injection. KM12-HX cells contain higher levels of polyA+mRNA for alpha(1-3/4) fucosyltransferase than KM12-LX cells. Sialyl-Le(x) antigenic carbohydrate chains were attached to mucins as well as glycoproteins with various M(r). KM12-HX cells adhered more strongly than KM12-LX cells to human umbilical vein endothelial cells treated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha and to mouse hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells. We have retrospectively evaluated post-operative survival of colon carcinoma patients for their sialyl-Le(x) antigen levels in the primary tumors according to the percentage of stained cells by specific antibodies. The adjusted survival rate of the patients with high levels of sialyl-Le(x) antigen in their primary tumors was much lower due to recurrence and metastasis than that of the patients with tumors containing low levels of sialyl-Le(x) antigen. The results suggested that sialyl-Le(x) antigen has a potential to be used as a predictive marker for colorectal cancer metastasis.