Publication: The use of the lectin Helixpomatia agglutinin (HPA) as a prognostic indicator and as a tool in cancer research
Loading...
Date
1999
Authors
Mitchell, B.S. ; Schumacher, U.
item.page.secondaryauthor
item.page.director
Publisher
Murcia : F. Hernández
publication.page.editor
publication.page.department
DOI
item.page.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Description
Abstract
Progress in treatment for cancer has enabled
extension of the disease-free interval, and of the quality
of life for patients, but there has been very little
improvement in overall survival rates. The main reason
for this has been the ineffectiveness of current therapies
to kill all the cancer cells once they have spread to
distant sites to form metastatic deposits. One marker
which has proved to be useful in identifying those
cancers which have the potential to spread is the lectin
Helixpomatia agglutinin (HPA). In clinical studies, HPA
binding to primary tumours in tissue sections has been of
prognostic value in breast, colon and gastric cancer,
while no prognostic significance for HPA could be
detected in tumours of the head and neck. These studies
hence indicate that HPA is best suited to recognise a
glycotope on adenocarcinomas. In several studies, HPA
reactivity is equal or superior to other classical markers
of metastatic potential. Since HPA is a marker of
prognosis at the level of individual tumour cells, human
tumour cell lines were screened for their HPA positivity.
When transplanted into severe combined immunodeficient
(scid) mice, HPA positive human breast and
colon cancer cells metastasised while HPA negative
cancer cell lines in general did not. In order to define
HPA binding glycotopes at the molecular level, isolated cell membrane glycoproteins were exposed to labelled
HPA on nitrocellulose membranes after Western blotting
procedure. The majority of the isolated cell membrane
glycoproteins bound HPA indicating that not a single
HPA binding glycoprotein exists, which is associated
with the metastatic phenotype. Functional investigations
using the humanlscid mouse chimeras will aid in the
identification of those HPA positive glycoproteins which
are functionally involved in the metastatic cascade.
publication.page.subject
Citation
item.page.embargo
Ir a Estadísticas
Sin licencia Creative Commons.