Finally, we found the relative intensity of sialylated MCAM was negatively correlated with tumor malignancy in HCC patients. Taken together, these results demonstrate that ST6GAL1 may be an HCC metastasis suppressor by affecting sialylation of MCAM on cell surface, which provides a novel insight into the roles of ST6GAL1 in HCC progression and supports the functional complexity of ST6GAL1 in a cancer type- and tissue type-specific manner.
ST6GAL1 could further affect the infiltration of immune cells to exert anti-inflammation function in liver. Our study indicated that ST6GAL1 could be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target to assess the prognosis and regulate the immune cells infiltration level of HCC.
Additionally, we utilized the well-validated ST6GAL1 antibody to determine that ST6GAL1 is overexpressed in bladder cancer, a finding that contradicts prior studies which employed LN1 to suggest ST6GAL1 is downregulated in bladder cancer. Collectively, our studies underscore the need for careful validation of antibodies purported to recognize ST6GAL1.
Moreover, we present evidence supporting the existence novel but yet uncharacterized cofactors in the exosome-like particles that potently amplify extrinsic ST6GAL1 action, highlighting a previously unknown mechanism linking this enzyme and cancer pathobiology. Our data indicate that extracellular ST6GAL1 from remote sources can compensate for cellular ST6GAL1-mediated aggressive tumor cell proliferation and invasive behavior and has great clinical potential for extracellular ST6GAL1 as these molecules are in the extracellular space should be easily accessible targets.
Given that activation of EGFR is one the major drivers of ADM, these data suggest a potential mechanism by which ST6GAL1-mediated sialylation facilitates ADM. Collectively these results point to a critical role for ST6GAL1 in both early and late stages of pancreatic malignancy.
A cohort of mice was also treated for 7 weeks with vincristine chemotherapy to induce remission and then allowed to relapse...However, ST6Gal1 knockdown cells also showed increased insensitivity to chemotherapy. Our combined results point to a context-dependent effect of ST6Gal1 expression on BCP-ALL cells, which is discussed within the framework of its activity as an enzyme with many N-linked glycoprotein substrates.