CD24, a highly sialylated glycosyl-phosphatidyl-inositol (GPI) cell surface protein that interacts with sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectins (Siglecs), serves as an innate immune checkpoint and plays a crucial role in inflammatory diseases and tumor progression. Recently, cytoplasmic CD24 has been observed in samples from patients with cancer. However, whether sialylation governs the subcellular localization of CD24 in cancer remains unclear, and the impact of CD24 expression and localization on the clinical prognosis of cancer remains controversial. Here, we performed a systematic pan-cancer analysis of the gene expression levels and clinical correlation of CD24. Our analysis revealed that CD24 was highly expressed in breast tumor tissues and tumor cells, significantly shortening patient survival time. However, this correlation was not evident in other types of cancer. Additionally, a correlation analysis of CD24 levels with sialyltransferases (STs) revealed that ST8SIA6 is the key ST affecting CD24 sialylation. Further investigation demonstrated that ST8SIA6 directly modified CD24, promoting its localization to the cell membrane. Taken together, these findings elucidate, for the first time, the mechanisms by which ST8SIA6 regulates CD24 subcellular localization, providing new insights into the biological functions and applications of CD24.
Keywords: CD24; ST8SIA6; sialylation; subcellular localization.