Elevated expression of L-selectin ligand in lymph node-derived human prostate cancer cells correlates with increased tumorigenicity.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, 985870, Nebraska Medical Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.

Human prostate cancer LNCaP cells including C-33 and C-81 cells were originally derived from the lymph nodes of a patient with metastatic prostate cancer. These two cells were employed for characterization of L-selectin ligand and in vitro tumorigenicity, because they mimic the clinical conditions of early and late-stage human prostate cancer. C-81 cells exhibit higher in vitro migratory and invasive properties as compared with C-33 cells. We find that the L-selectin ligand and mucin glycan-associated MECA-79 epitope were elevated in C-81 cells. An increase of these glycotopes positively correlates with elevated tumorigenicity and expression of key glycosyl- and sulfotransferase genes. These results suggest that modulated expression of selective glycogenes correlates with altered tumorigenicity of cancer cells.

PMID: 18670876 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]