Pancreatic cancer cell glycosylation regulates cell adhesion and invasion through the modulation of α2β1 integrin and E-cadherin function

PLoS One. 2014 May 30;9(5):e98595. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098595. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

In our previous studies we have described that ST3Gal III transfected pancreatic adenocarcinoma Capan-1 and MDAPanc-28 cells show increased membrane expression levels of sialyl-Lewis x (SLe(x)) along with a concomitant decrease in α2,6-sialic acid compared to control cells. Here we have addressed the role of this glycosylation pattern in the functional properties of two glycoproteins involved in the processes of cancer cell invasion and migration, α2β1 integrin, the main receptor for type 1 collagen, and E-cadherin, responsible for cell-cell contacts and whose deregulation determines cell invasive capabilities. Our results demonstrate that ST3Gal III transfectants showed reduced cell-cell aggregation and increased invasive capacities. ST3Gal III transfected Capan-1 cells exhibited higher SLe(x) and lower α2,6-sialic acid content on the glycans of their α2β1 integrin molecules. As a consequence, higher phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase tyrosine 397, which is recognized as one of the first steps of integrin-derived signaling pathways, was observed in these cells upon adhesion to type 1 collagen. This molecular mechanism underlies the increased migration through collagen of these cells. In addition, the pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines as well as human pancreatic tumor tissues showed colocalization of SLe(x) and E-cadherin, which was higher in the ST3Gal III transfectants. In conclusion, changes in the sialylation pattern of α2β1 integrin and E-cadherin appear to influence the functional role of these two glycoproteins supporting the role of these glycans as an underlying mechanism regulating pancreatic cancer cell adhesion and invasion.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cadherins / metabolism*
  • Cell Adhesion / physiology*
  • Cell Aggregation / physiology
  • Collagen Type I / metabolism
  • Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / metabolism
  • Glycosylation
  • Humans
  • Integrin alpha2beta1 / metabolism*
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness / pathology*
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Phosphorylation / physiology
  • Signal Transduction / physiology
  • Tumor Cells, Cultured

Substances

  • Cadherins
  • Collagen Type I
  • Integrin alpha2beta1
  • Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministery of Science and Innovation [grant BIO 2010-16922], La Marató de TV3 Foundation [grant 050932], the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), project grants [PTDC/CVT/111358/2009; PTDC/BBB-EBI/0786/2012; EXPL/BIM-MEC/0149/2012], “financiados no âmbito do Programa Operacional Temático Factores de Competitividade (COMPETE) e comparticipado pelo fundo Comunitário Europeu FEDER”, e do Quadro de Referência Estratégia Nacional QREN. IPATIMUP is an Associate Laboratory of the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, and is partially supported by FCT. SB acknowledges the Government of Catalonia for a pre-doctoral fellowship and the University of Girona for a mobility grant. SSP [SFRH/BPD/63094/2009] and SC [SFRH/BD/77386/2011] also acknowledge FCT. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.