[Metastatic potential correlates with cell surface carbohydrate profiles of nasopharyngeal carcinoma]

In order to investigate the changes in glycoprotein structure between non-metastatic and metastatic cells of nasopharyngerl carcinoma (NPC), peanut agglutinin (PNA), ulex europeaus (UEA-I) and concanavalin ensifomis agglutinin (ConA) staining were used to examine 102 nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues (84 primary tumors and 18 metastatic lymph nodes) with the avidin-biotinperoxidase complex method. PNA reaction was positive in most cells of nasopharyngeal carcinomas regardles of in histopathologic type, the degree of differentiation and metastasis. The levels of UEA-I receptors apparently increased during nasopharyngeal carcinoma progression from non-metastatic to metastatic tumors. The binding to ConA clearly decreased in the cells of metastatic cases and metastatic lymph node. So, the increased expression of UEA-I receptors and decrease of ConA receptors on tumor cells might have been implicated in the expression of metastatic potential.