High expression of α-1-6 fucosyltransferase during rat hepatocarcinogenesis

✍ Scribed by Katsuhisa Noda; Eiji Miyoshi; Naofumi Uozumi; Cong-Xiao Gao; Keiichiro Suzuki; Norio Hayashi; Masatsugu Hori; Naoyuki Taniguchi

• Book ID: 101235011
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 204 KB
• Volume: 75
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19980130)75:3<444::aid-ijc19>3.0.co;2-8

✦ Synopsis

␣-1-6 Fucosylated ␣-fetoprotein (AFP) is known to be elevated in patients with primary hepatoma and has been suggested as being useful as an early indicator and predictor of the poor prognosis for hepatoma. Although GDP-L-fucosyl-N-acetyl-␤-D-glucosaminide ␣-1-6 fucosyltransferase (␣-1-6 FucT), is the key enzyme involved in ␣-1-6 fucosylation of AFP, when and how the expression of ␣-1-6 FucT is enhanced during hepatocarcinogenesis is unknown. Recently, we established a convenient assay method for this enzyme and were successful in the purification and cDNA cloning of ␣-1-6 FucT from human gastric cancer, as well as from porcine brain. In the present study, levels of ␣-1-6 FucT activity and mRNA expression have been determined during hepatocarcinogenesis in LEC rats which spontaneously develop hereditary hepatitis and hepatoma. The fetal liver contained the highest enzymatic activity, which tended to increase in inverse proportion to gestation. The enzymatic activity was significantly increased in hepatoma tissues as compared with uninvolved adjacent tissues. Northern-blot analysis revealed high expression of ␣-1-6 FucT mRNA in hepatoma tissues, whereas the expression was fairly low in normal, hepatitis and uninvolved adjacent liver tissues. While the fetal liver had the highest enzymatic activity, the expression of ␣-1-6 FucT mRNA was low, suggesting that another ␣-1-6 FucT is induced in fetal liver or that post-translational modification occurs. High expression of ␣-1-6 FucT was also observed in 3Ј-MeDABinduced rat hepatomas and some rat hepatoma cell lines. Collectively, ␣-1-6 FucT was strongly enhanced from an early stage of hepatocarcinogenesis and was maintained at a high level in rat hepatomas. Int.