Abstract
The term “cancer” refers to a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process whereby epithelial cells lose their cell polarity and cell–cell adhesion ability, and acquire migratory and invasive properties to gain mesenchymal phenotype, is an important step leading to tumor metastasis. Glycans, such as N-glycans, O-glycans, and glycosphingolipids, are involved in numerous biological processes, including inflammation, virus/bacteria–host interactions, cell–cell interactions, morphogenesis, and cancer development and progression. Aberrant expression of glycans has been observed in several EMT models, and the functional roles of such glycans in cancer development and progression has been investigated. We summarize here recent research progress regarding the functions of glycans in cancer cells undergoing EMT. Better understanding of the mechanisms underlying aberrant glycan patterns in EMT and cancer will facilitate the development of such glycans as cancer biomarkers or as targets in design and synthesis of anti-tumor drugs.
Highlights
The term “cancer” refers to a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body
Changes in N-glycan patterns and the related glycosyltransferases are important in understanding the role of Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and adhesive properties of cancer cells
Overexpression of the polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 6 (GALNT6), which is involved in the initial step of O-glycosylation, disrupted acinar morphogenesis and produced cellular changes similar to those of EMT in normal mammary epithelial MCF10A cells
Summary
The term “cancer” refers to a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Functioning of proteins in both normal and cancer cells is maintained by post-translational modifications (PTSs), which include phosphorylation, ubiquitination, methylation, N-acetylation, and glycosylation. Glycosylation is the most commonly occurring of these PTMs, and is involved in many biological processes. Glycans participate in numerous biological processes, including signal transduction, inflammation, virus/bacteria–host interactions, cell–cell interactions, and cancer development and progression [1,2,3]. We review here the roles of glycans in cancer cells undergoing epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), a fundamental biological phenomenon that occurs during early embryonic development, tissue repair, and cancer metastasis
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