2 Department of Biochemistry, Sasaki Institute, 2-2, Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0062, and Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST) of the Japan Science and Technology Corporation, 2-3, Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0062, Japan; and 3 Second Department of Pathology, Kagoshima University School of Medicine, 8-351, Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8520, Japan
Received on January 21, 2002; revised on February 25, 2002; accepted on February 26, 2002
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Abstract |
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Key words: colon cancer/mucinous adenocarcinoma/substrate specificity/sulfated oligosaccharide/sulfotransferase
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Introduction |
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SulT-a is present in normal colonic mucosa and adenocarcinomas, and levels of the enzymatic activities in normal mucosa are significantly higher than those in adenocarcinomas, suggesting that SulT-a is responsible for sulfation of N-linked glycans in CEA and NFA-2. On the other hand, SulT-b is not detected in normal mucosa and nonmucinous adenocarcinoma, but the strong enzymatic activities are found in mucinous adenocarcinoma or adenocarcinoma with a mucinous component (Seko et al., 2000). Mucinous adenocarcinomas are defined by the World Health Organization as those in which over 50% of the microscopic area is occupied with mucus (Morson and Sobin, 1990
). The remarkable difference in biochemical properties between SulT-a and -b is in their substrate specificities; SulT-a acts efficiently on Galß1
3(GlcNAcß1
6)GalNAc
1-O-p-nitrophenyl (core 2 O-pNP), weakly on GlcNAcß1
2Man and GlcNAcß1
3Galß1
4Glc (GL), but not on GlcNAcß1
3GalNAc
1-O-pNP (core 3 O-pNP), whereas SulT-b acts efficiently on these acceptor substrates (Seko et al., 2000
). From the broad substrate specificity of SulT-b, it could be speculated that some sulfated glycans are specifically synthesized in mucinous adenocarcinomas and that the sulfated moieties may serve as a good clinical marker against colonic mucinous adenocarcinomas. Therefore, it is important to determine which GlcNAc 6-O-SulTs so far cloned correspond to SulT-a and -b.
A Gal/GalNAc/GlcNAc 6-O-SulT family comprises four GlcNAc 6-O-SulTs (GlcNAc6ST-1, -2, -3, and -5), one GlcNAc/GalNAc 6-O-SulT (GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2), one Gal/GalNAc 6-O-SulT(Ch6ST-1), and one Gal 6-O-SulT (KS6ST) (Fukuta et al., 1995, 1997, 1998; Uchimura et al., 1998a
,b,c, 2000; Tsutsumi et al., 1998
; Mazany et al., 1998
; Li and Tedder, 1999
; Bistrup et al., 1999
; Hiraoka et al., 1999
; Lee et al., 1999
; Kitagawa et al., 2000
; Akama et al., 2000
; Sakaguchi et al., 2000
; Bhakta et al., 2000
; Hemmerich et al., 2001a
). They share approximately 3090% identity of amino acid sequences and three well-conserved domains, two of which are involved in the binding to a donor substrate, adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) (Negishi et al., 2001
; Fukuda et al., 2001
). However, expression profiles of these genes in human tissues and their putative biological roles are diverse. Habuchi et al. (1993)
purified chondroitin 6-O-SulT (C6ST or Ch6ST-1) from chick embryo chondrocytes, and Fukuta et al. (1995)
isolated a cDNA for the SulT. KS6ST (keratan sulfate 6-O-SulT [KSGal6ST]) has been cloned by Fukuta et al. (1997)
through cross-hybridization with the cDNA for Ch6ST-1. GlcNAc6ST-1 was identified by Uchimura et al. (1998b,c) as the first GlcNAc 6-O-SulT (GlcNAc6ST) with rather broad expression profile in human and mouse, and GlcNAc6ST-2 (HEC-GlcNAc6ST or LSST), the second GlcNAc 6-O-SulT cloned by Bistrup et al. (1999)
and Hiraoka et al. (1999)
, exhibits a limited expression in high endothelial venules among human and mouse normal tissues.
KS6ST and GlcNAc6ST-1 and -2 (Uchimura et al., 1998b,c; Bistrup et al., 1999
; Hiraoka et al., 1999
) were shown to be involved in the biosynthesis of L-selectin ligand moieties, Gal-6-O-sulfated and/or GlcNAc-6-O-sulfated sialyl Lewis X (Hemmerich et al., 1995
; Mitsuoka et al., 1998
; Yeh et al., 2001
). L-selectin on lymphocytes binds to specific sulfated glycoproteins on the surface of the endothelial cells of high endothelial venules in lymph nodes and mediates recruitment of lymphocytes (Yeh et al., 2001
; Hemmerich et al., 2001b
). GlcNAc6ST-3 (I-GlcNAc6ST), which is expressed predominantly in small intestine and colon, is the third GlcNAc 6-O-SulT (Lee et al., 1999
). GlcNAc6ST-5 (CGn6ST) (Akama et al., 2000
; Hemmerich et al., 2001a
), which shares over 85% identity of the amino acid sequence with GlcNAc6ST-3, was found to be the gene responsible for macular corneal dystrophy, a hereditary eye disorder (Akama et al., 2000
).
There exists a discrepancy about the substrate specificity of GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2. Kitagawa et al. (2000) isolated the cDNA for GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2 and characterized the enzyme as a chondroitin 6-O-SulT (C6ST-2); in contrast, Uchimura et al. (2000)
independently found and characterized the enzyme as an N-linked glycan-preferable GlcNAc 6-O-SulT (GlcNAc6ST-4). Bhakta et al. (2000)
also showed GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2 as a GlcNAc 6-O-SulT. The involvement of these SulTs in several biological phenomena has been elucidated as described, but their precise substrate specificities for comparison to those of SulT-a and -b have not yet been clarified.
In this article, we comparatively studied the substrate specificities of all members of Gal/GalNAc/GlcNAc 6-O-SulT family. We show that GlcNAc6ST-2 and -3 have similar substrate specificities to those of SulT-b and -a, respectively. We further revealed by the competitive reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) that transcript for GlcNAc6ST-2 selectively occurs in colonic mucinous adenocarcinomas and that expression levels of transcript for GlcNAc6ST-3 in normal colonic mucosa are significantly higher than those in colonic adenocarcinomas. From these results, we conclude that GlcNAc6ST-2 and -3 are dominant components of the enzymatic activities of SulT-b and -a, respectively.
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Results |
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Structural analysis of 35S-labeled oligosaccharides produced by the seven SulTs
To determine the substrate specificities of these SulTs, six oligosaccharides, CS, and KS were used as substrates (Table I). The structure of 35S-labeled products was analyzed in combination with Psathyrella velutina lectin (PVL)- or Trichosanthes japonica agglutinin-I (TJA-I)-immobilized column chromatography and glycosidase digestion.
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[35S]sulfated GlcNAcß13Galß1
4Glc
All of the seven SulTs were capable of acting on GlcNAcß13Galß1
4Glc (GL) (Table I), but the linkage positions of [35S]sulfate were different as follows. When jack bean ß-N-acetylhexosaminidase digest of [35S]sulfated GL synthesized by GlcNAc6ST-1, -2, -3, -5, or GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2 was applied to PVL-Sepharose chromatography, each radioactive product bound to the column and was eluted with 0.3 M GlcNAc (data not shown), indicating the incorporation of [35S]sulfate at the C-6 of GlcNAc (Figure 3, product 6). On the other hand, when jack bean ß-N-acetylhexosaminidase digest derived from KS6ST or Ch6ST-1 was applied on a PVL-Sepharose column, the 35S-labeled compounds flowed through the column (data not shown). Instead, the digests bound to a TJA-I-Sepharose column and were eluted with 0.1 M lactose (Figure 2B, shown in the case of KS6ST). TJA-I specifically binds to Neu5Ac
2
6Galß1
4GlcNAc/Glc and SO3
6Galß1
4GlcNAc/Glc structure, but not to Neu5Ac
2
3(±SO3
6)Galß1
4GlcNAcß1
and Galß1
4GlcNAcß1
(Yamashita et al., 1992
; Seko and Yamashita, unpublished data). These results indicate that the digests are SO3
6Galß1
4Glc and that Ch6ST-1 and KS6ST transfer [35S]sulfate to the C-6 position of Gal residue of GL (Table I and Figure 3, product 7). This result is consistent with those reported by Torii et al. (2000)
, who showed that KS6ST can sulfate the proximal Gal residue in Galß1
4GlcNAcß1
3Galß1
4GlcNAc structure.
Substrate specificities of the seven SulTs
From the results described, substrate specificities of the SulTs are summarized in Table I. The substrate specificities of SulT-a and -b, which are GlcNAc 6-O-SulTs detected in human colonic mucosa and mucinous adenocarcinoma, respectively (Seko et al., 2000), are also shown. Several unique characters of the SulTs were found with regard to those substrate specificities: (1) only GlcNAc6ST-2 and GlcNAc6ST-5 can act on core 3 O-pNP, but the relative activity of GlcNAc6ST-2 for core 3 O-pNP is greater than that of GlcNAc6ST-5, suggesting that GlcNAc6ST-2 corresponds to SulT-b. (2) The specificity of SulT-a is similar to that of GlcNAc6ST-3, suggesting that GlcNAc6ST-3 corresponds to SulT-a. (3) Core 2 O-pNP is the best substrate for GlcNAc6ST-1, -2, -3, -5, and GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2 among the oligosaccharides examined. (4) The main difference in the substrate specificities between GlcNAc6ST-3 and GlcNAc6ST-5 is that GlcNAc6ST-5 acts on GlcNAcß1
2Man and GL more efficiently than GlcNAc6ST-3. (5) BiGP and monoGP are poor substrates for GlcNAc6ST-1, -2, -3, -5 and GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2.
Determination of expression levels of GlcNAc6ST-2 and -3 in human normal colonic mucosa and adenocarcinomas
From the results in Table I, SulT-a and -b are likely to correspond to GlcNAc6ST-3 and -2, respectively. To further confirm this, we examined expression levels of transcripts for GlcNAc6ST-2 and -3 in human normal colonic mucosa and adenocarcinomas by the competitive RT-PCR method. We previously found that the enzymatic activity of SulT-b is not present in normal mucosa and nonmucinous adenocarcinoma but in mucus-pool depositing adenocarcinomas and that levels of the enzymatic activities of SulT-a in normal mucosa are higher than those in adenocarcinomas (Seko et al., 2000). The competitive RT-PCR products were applied on agarose electrophoresis and detected by staining with ethidium bromide. Typical results for GlcNAc6ST-2, -3, and ß-actin are shown in Figure 4A, and relative amounts of transcripts for GlcNAc6ST-2 and -3 to that for ß-actin are shown in Table II.
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Discussion |
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Our first aim in this study is to identify a GlcNAc 6-O-SulT (SulT-b) that is specifically expressed in human colonic mucinous adenocarcinoma or adenocarcinoma with a mucinous component (Seko et al., 2000). SulT-b activity is not detected in human normal colonic mucosa and nonmucinous adenocarcinoma. The substrate specificity of SulT-b is broader than that of SulT-a, which occurs in normal colonic mucosa and adenocarcinomas (Table I). The conspicuous difference between both enzymes is that SulT-b can act on core 3 O-pNP, whereas SulT-a cannot. Considering these facts, we examined the substrate specificities of seven enzymes of Gal/GalNAc/GlcNAc 6-O-SulT family and found that GlcNAc6ST-2 and -5 can act on core 3 O-pNP (Table I). However, GlcNAc6ST-5 utilizes core 3 O-pNP with a quite low efficiency compared with SulT-b, and Bartes et al. (2001)
showed that mRNA for GlcNAc6ST-5 is expressed in human normal colon by the northern blot analysis. These facts exclude the possibility that GlcNAc6ST-5 is a major component of SulT-b. On the other hand, the expression of GlcNAc6ST-2 gene was shown to be limited in high endothelial venules among human and mouse normal tissues (Bistrup et al., 1999
; Hiraoka et al., 1999
). Our results obtained by the competitive RT-PCR suggest that GlcNAc6ST-2 is hardly expressed in colonic normal mucosa and nonmucinous adenocarcinoma, but found in mucinous adenocarcinomas. From these facts, we conclude that GlcNAc6ST-2 is dominant component of SulT-b activity and that GlcNAc6ST-2 is ectopically expressed in human mucinous adenocarcinoma cells. Relative values of the enzymatic activities of SulT-b for GlcNAcß1
2Man, core 3 O-pNP, and GL are slightly lower than those of GlcNAc6ST-2 (Table I). The result suggests that a SulT specific for core 2 O-pNP is present as a minor component in mucinous adenocarcinoma. One candidate is GlcNAc6ST-3, which has strong activity for core 2 O-pNP (Table I) and is weakly expressed even in mucinous adenocarcinomas (Table II).
On the other hand, SulT-a is present in human normal mucosa and adenocarcinomas (Seko et al., 2000). The substrate specificity of SulT-a is similar to that of GlcNAc6ST-3, which is expressed in small intestine and colon (Lee et al., 1999
). We previously showed that levels of SulT-a activities in nonmucinous adenocarcinomas are lower than those in normal mucosa (Seko et al., 2000
) and, in this study, that expression levels of transcript for GlcNAc6ST-3 in colonic adenocarcinomas are lower than those in normal mucosa (Table II and Figure 4B). From these results, we conclude that SulT-a corresponds to GlcNAc6ST-3.
The contents of a sulfated glycan moiety, Galß14(SO3
6)GlcNAcß1
, in CEA derived from colon cancer patients are lower than those in NFA-2 (Yamashita et al., 1987
; Fukushima et al., 1995
). GlcNAc6ST-3 can be responsible for the synthesis of the sulfated glycans in CEA and NFA-2, and the down-regulation in colon cancer may cause decrease of the content of the sulfated glycans in CEA. It has been shown that mRNAs for GlcNAc6ST-1 and -5 are also expressed in normal colon (Uchimura et al., 1998c
; Bartes et al., 2001
, respectively). However, as shown in Table I, the relative activity of GlcNAc6ST-1 for GlcNAcß1
2Man and that of GlcNAc6ST-5 for GL are greater than those of SulT-a and GlcNAc6ST-3, suggesting that the contribution of GlcNAc6ST-1 and -5 activities to SulT-a seems to be quite low.
GlcNAc6ST-3 and 5 share over 85 % identity of the amino acid sequence (Akama et al., 2000; Hemmerich et al., 2001a
), but their substrate specificities are different; GL is relatively good substrate for GlcNAc6ST-5, but it is poor one for GlcNAc6ST-3 (Table I). Akama et al. (2000, 2001) showed that GlcNAc6ST-5 is the gene responsible for macular corneal dystrophy and is involved in biosynthesis of keratan sulfate in corneas, whereas GlcNAc6ST-3 is unable to contribute to the biosynthesis. This fact seems to be in agreement with our result that GlcNAc6ST-5, not GlcNAc6ST-3, can efficiently act on GL, an analog of poly-N-acetyllactosamine that is the backbone structure of KS.
It has been reported that Galß13[(6SO3)Glc-NAcß1
6]GalNAc
1
structure is present in hen ovomucin (Strecker et al., 1987
), human tracheobronchial mucous glycoproteins (Mawhinney et al., 1992a
), mucous glycoproteins from patients suffering from cystic fibrosis (Mawhinney et al., 1992b
; Lo-Guidice et al., 1994
) and chronic bronchitis (Lo-Guidice et al., 1997
), GlyCAM-1 (Hemmerich et al., 1995
), oviducal mucins (Maes et al., 1997
), and human colonic carcinoma mucin (Capon et al., 1997
). These structures should be synthesized by GlcNAc6ST-1, -2, -3, -5, or GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2, because core 2 O-pNP is a good substrate for the five GlcNAc 6-O-SulTs. In spite of various distribution of expression of the five SulTs, information on the occurrence of GlcNAc-6-O-sulfated core 2 structure is rather limited. Because ß1,6GlcNAc-transferases responsible for core 2 formation are mainly expressed in mucus-producing tissues and immunity-related tissues (Bierhuizen and Fukuda, 1992
; Yeh et al., 1999
; Schwientek et al., 1999
, 2000), the core 2synthesizing enzymes may be limiting factors for biosynthesis of GlcNAc-6-O-sulfated core 2.
BiGP and monoGP are relatively poor substrates for GlcNAc6ST-1 to -5 in comparison with GlcNAcß12Man. It has been shown that 6-O-sulfated GlcNAc residues linked to trimannosyl core moiety are present in porcine thyroglobulin (De Waard et al., 1991
) and Tribolodon hakonensis hyosophorin (Taguchi et al., 1996
). In this study, we could not reveal N-linked biantennary glycan-preferable GlcNAc 6-O-SulT among the seven SulTs. Uchimura et al. (2000)
showed that mouse GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2 recognizes GlcNAcß1
2Man and GlcNAcß1
6Man-O-Me as good acceptors and acts on core2 O-pNP and GL with a lower efficiency. Human GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2 recognizes core2 O-pNP as a good acceptor as well as GlcNAcß1
2Man (Table I). It still remains unclear whether or not the difference in their substrate specificities is due to the difference in their sources.
On the other hand, Spiro et al. (1996) showed that a GlcNAc 6-O-SulT in rat liver can act on both GlcNAcß1
2Man-
1
3(GlcNAcß1
2Man
1
6)Man, an analog of biGP, and GlcNAcß1
2Man with a similar good efficiency, but can not act on GL. It is interesting whether or not the rat liver SulT corresponds to rat GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2.
In this study, we revealed two GlcNAc 6-O-SulTs, expression levels of which are dependent on pathological type of colon cancer. One of those is GlcNAc6ST-2, which is selectively expressed in mucinous adenocarcinomas. Biological role and substrate glycoproteins of GlcNAc6ST-2 in the mucus-depositing cancer cells are unclear now, but considering the broad substrate specificity of GlcNAc6ST-2, mucinous adenocarcinomas may express unique sulfated glycan(s), which is(are) absent in normal mucosa and nonmucinous adenocarcinoma. Such a glycan might serve as a good clinical marker for detecting mucinous adenocarcinomas.
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Materials and methods |
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Cloning of cDNAs encoding for Gal/GalNAc/GlcNAc 6-O-SulTs
cDNAs encoding for Ch6ST-1 and GlcNAc6ST-1 were amplified from Super ScriptTM human testis cDNA library (Life Technologies) by PCR, and cDNAs encoding for KS6ST, GlcNAc6ST-2, -3, and -5, and GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2 were amplified by PCR from the genome prepared from lymphocytes of the A. Seko. The open reading frames for KS6ST and GlcNAc6ST-1 to -5 are encoded within single exons (Hemmerich et al., 2001a). Oligonucleotide primers used for the PCR were:
5'-tttaagcttATGGAGAAAGGACTCACT-3' (forward primer for Ch6ST-1)
5'-ttttctagaCTACGTGACCCAGAAGGT-3' (reverse primer for Ch6ST-1)
5'-tttaagcttGGAGCAGTCCCT-3' (forward primer for KS6ST)
5'-ttttctagaTCACGAGAAGGGGCGGA-3' (reverse primer for KS6ST)
5'-tttgaattcTCTCGGAATGAAGGTG-3' (forward primer for GlcNAc6ST-1)
5'-tttctcgagATCAGGTCTCCTGGGAA-3' (reverse primer for GlcNAc6ST-1)
5'-tttaagcttAGCACAATGCTACTGCCT-3' (forward primer for GlcNAc6ST-2)
5'-ttttctagaTTAGTGGATTTGCTCAGG-3' (reverse primer for GlcNAc6ST-2)
5'-tttaagcttATGTGGCTGCCACGGTT-3' (forward primer for GlcNAc6ST-3)
5'-ttttctagaTCAGTCAGGCGATGCCCA-3' (reverse primer for GlcNAc6ST-3)
5'-tttaagcttAGCAGTCAGCATGTGGCT-3' (forward primer for GlcNAc6ST-5)
5'-ttttctagaGCGCCTGCTACAACTGT-3' (reverse primer for GlcNAc6ST-5)
5'-tttaagcttCGGTGAACGATGAAGGGC-3' (forward primer for GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2)
5'-ttttctagaAGGGATGGGAGGCTACGT-3' (reverse primer for GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2)
Sequences in lowercase letters contain appropriate restriction sites.
Amplified cDNAs for Ch6ST-1, KS6ST, GlcNAc6ST-2, -3, -5, and GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2 were digested with HindIII and XbaI (as for GlcNAc6ST-1, with EcoRI and XhoI) and cloned between the respective sites of pcDNA3 (Invitrogen). The constructed plasmids were named pcDNA3-Ch6ST-1; -KS6ST; -GlcNAc6ST-1, -2, -3, and -5; and -GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST and were sequenced using Applied Biosystems PRISM 310 Genetic Analyzer (PE Biosystems). The nucleic acid sequences of the seven SulTs cloned were identical to the sequences with accession number AB017915 (Tsutsumi et al., 1998) for Ch6ST-1; U65637 (Mazany et al., 1998
), AB003791 (Fukuta et al., 1997
), and AF090137 (Li and Tedder, 1999
) for KS6ST; AB021124 (Sakaguchi et al., 2000
) and AF083066 (Li and Tedder, 1999
) for GlcNAc6ST-1; AF149783 (Yeh et al., 2001
) and AF280088 (Hemmerich et al., 2001a
) for GlcNAc6ST-2; AF176838 (Lee et al., 1999
) and AF246718 (Akama et al., 2000
) for GlcNAc6ST-3; AF219990 (Akama et al., 2000
) and AF280086 (Hemmerich et al., 2001a
) for GlcNAc6ST-5; AB037187 (Kitagawa et al., 2000
) and AB040711 (Uchimura et al., 2000
) for GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2.
Expression of SulTs in COS-7 cells
The plasmids (1 µg) were transfected into COS-7 cells on 35-mm dishes using Lipofectin Reagent (Life Technologies) according to the manufacturers instructions. After 48 h, the cells were washed twice with phosphate-buffered saline, scraped off from the dishes in 10 mM HEPESNaOH (pH 7.2) and 0.25 M sucrose, and homogenized. The homogenates were ultracentrifuged at 100,000 x g for 1 h. The precipitated crude membranes were suspended in 20 mM HEPESNaOH (pH 7.2) and kept at 80°C until use.
Assay of SulT activity
In the cases of GlcNAc6ST-1, -2, -3, and -5, 20 µl of reaction mixture consisting of 0.1 M sodium cacodylate (pH 6.8), 10 mM MnCl2, 0.1% (w/v) digitonin, 50 µg/ml protamine chloride, 2 mM dithiothreitol, 0.1 M NaF, 2 mM ATP-Na2, 6.5 µM [35S]PAPS (4.9 x 105 dpm), 1 mM acceptor substrate, and the membrane fraction approximately diluted were incubated at 37°C for 1 h. In the cases of Ch6ST-1, KS6ST, and GlcNAc6ST-4/Ch6ST-2, 0.1 M sodium cacodylate (pH 6.4) and 0.1% (v/v) Triton X-100 were added to the reaction mixture in place of sodium cacodylate (pH 6.8) and digitonin, respectively. The 35S-labeled products were purified by paper electrophoresis (pyridine:acetic acid:water, 3:1:387, pH 5.4). After drying, the paper was monitored for radioactivity with a radiochromatogram scanner, and the 35S-labeled products were extracted with water and analyzed for the linkage position of [35S]sulfate. Enzymatic activity values were calculated as the means of three independent experiments.
Lectin affinity chromatography
35S-labeled compounds were applied to PVL-Sepharose column (3 mg/ml gel; 0.7 x 2.5 cm). Elution was started with 4 ml of 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0)0.15 M NaCl (TBS) containing 1 mM CaCl2 and 1 mM MgCl2, followed by the same buffer containing 0.3 M GlcNAc. As for TJA-I-Sepharose column (3 mg/ml gel; 0.7 x 2.5 cm), elution was started with 4 ml of TBS, followed by the same buffer containing 0.1 M lactose.
ß-N-acetylhexosaminidase digestion
[35S]sulfated oligosaccharides were digested with jackbean ß-N-acetylhexosaminidase (0.1 U) in 50 µl of 0.1 M citrate-phosphate buffer (pH 6.0) at 37°C for 20 h. After incubation, reaction mixtures were heated at 100°C for 2 min to stop the reaction and applied to lectin affinity chromatography.
Determination of protein concentrations
The protein concentrations in the preparations of crude membranes were estimated using the Bio-Rad Protein Assay dye reagent with bovine serum albumin as a standard.
Preparation of normal human colonic mucosa and adenocarcinoma tissues
Fresh samples of normal colonic mucosa and carcinomas from 18 patients were stored frozen at 80 °C before use. Table II shows the Dukes staging system, the histological character of the adenocarcinomas, and the serum CEA levels of the patients before surgery. Eight of the 18 patients were assessed as "B," 6 patients were "C," 4 patients were "C(D)," according to Dukes staging system. Twelve cases (cases 112) were classified as nonmucinous adenocarcinoma, two (cases 15 and 17) were classified as mucinous adenocarcinoma, and four (cases 13, 14, 16, and 18) were classified as adenocarcinoma with a mucinous component. Four patients had a focus of distant metastasis in the liver (cases 12, 1618). Serum CEA levels were within the normal range (less than 2.5 ng/ml) in these eight patients (cases 2, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 15, and 17), whereas elevation of serum CEA levels was seen in other nine patients.
Normal mucosal tissue was obtained from an area 10 cm distant from the margin of the carcinoma, and it was separated completely from the muscle layer. The carcinoma tissue was obtained from the surface portion of the carcinoma, which was rich in carcinoma cells and had little interstitial tissue.
The study was approved by the Kagoshima University Faculty of Medicine Human Investigation Committee (No. H134).
Quantitation of GlcNAc6ST-2 and -3 transcripts by the competitive RT-PCR method
Levels of GlcNAc6ST-2 and -3 transcripts were measured by competitive PCR (Gilliland et al., 1990) based on the amounts of their respective cDNAs, which were reverse-transcribed from RNA samples. For distinction of a target cDNA from its competitor DNA, pcDNA3-GlcNAc6ST-2 and -3 were digested with SmaI and ligated. The treatment generated the deletion of 177- and 147-bp fragments, respectively, within the region corresponding to their cDNAs. The competitor cDNA for ß-actin was generated by deleting 218-bp fragment from the single-stranded cDNAs of normal colon tissue by PCR using oligonucleotides having the sequence 5'-ctcaagcttGATATCGCCGCGCTCGTCGTCGAC-3' as a forward primer and 5'-ctcggatccCAGGAAGGAAGGCTGGAAGAGTGCCAGTCAGGTCCCGGCCAGG-3' as a reverse primer. Amplified HindIIIBamHI fragment was inserted into the HindIIIBamHI site of pBluescript II SK+/.
From 5 µg of total RNA isolated by lysis of normal colon tissues or adenocarcinomas in ISOGEN (Nippon Gene, Japan), cDNAs were synthesized using oligo(dT) primers and SuperScript II (Gibco BRL) in a total volume of 21 µl. To check for contamination by genomic DNA in RNA samples, cDNA synthesis was performed in the absence of SuperScript II using a small aliquot of isolated total RNA. One microliter of appropriately diluted cDNAs was subjected to the quantitative PCR analysis according to the methods of Sasaki et al. (1994). After incubation at 95°C for 5 min, PCR was performed in a volume of 20 µl for 30 cycles of 95°C for 30 s, 65°C for 1 min, and 72°C for 2 min. The primers used were:
5'-ATGGAACCTGGTCCCCGGAGACA-3' (forward primer for GlcNAc6ST-2)
5'-AAGCGTGGTCACCCATGCCCTTG-3' (reverse primer for GlcNAc6ST-2)
5'-CCGCCTTTTTCAACTGGGCAACGA-3' (forward primer for GlcNAc6ST-3)
5'-AGGCCTCGATTGGCTTGCCGATC-3' (reverse primer for GlcNAc6ST-3)
5'-GATATCGCCGCGCTCGTCGTCGAC-3' (forward primer for ß-actin)
5'-CAGGAAGGAAGGCTGGAAGAGTGCC-3' (reverse primer for ß-actin)
After amplification, 10 µl aliquots were subjected to electrophoresis in 1.0% agarose gels, followed by staining with ethidium bromide. Amplified DNA fragments were quantified by scanning with a fluoro-image analyzer FLA-2000 (Fuji Photo Film, Japan). The amounts of target cDNAs were normalized by those of ß-actin.
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Abbreviations |
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References |
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