The analysis on functions of aberrant carbohydrates in endometrial cancer cells and the mechanism of their expression

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Monoclonal antibody MSN-1 was established against an endometrial cancer cell line. Immunohistochemical staining with this antibody resulted in a positive reaction in more than 90% of the cases of endometrial adenocarcinoma examined : but few cases with normal endometria. Base on these histochemical data, all cancer tissues expressing either Lewis b or Lewis y carbohydrate antigen were MSN-1-positive, indicating that the antigen detected by it is significantly increased in the cancer and that its epitope may be a terminal α-1,2 fucosylated carbohydrate residue, which is common between Lewis b and Lewis y. In this study, we investigated whether or not the phenotypic expression of the MSN-1-reactive antigen in endometrial adenocarcinoma specimens was affected by the expression of α-1,2 fucosyltransferases encoded by the Se or H gene.Firstly, we immunohistochemically examined phenotypic expressions of Le antigens in endometrial adenocarcinoma. Secondly, we relatively compared the expression of Se or H gene between cancer tissues and normal endometria by the method of RT-PCR.In addition, we checked missense mutations of the Se gene, whose homozygote (se/se) causes inactivation of the enzymatic activity.Cancer cells obtained from patients with a missense mutation of the Se gene (se/se). were positively stained by MSN-1. On the other hands, mRNA derived from the H gene, as well as that from the Se gene. was not always expressed more in the endometrial adenocarcinoma than in normal endometria. In addition, the MSN-1 reactive antigen on cancer cells did not link to expression of mRNA of Se or Lewis enzyme.These results imply two possibilities that endometrial cancer-specific fucose might be produced by collaboration of several α-1,2 fucosyltransferases or by a novel one.