Deciphering the Importance of Glycosphingolipids on Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Cancer

Biomolecules

Arun Everest-Dass¹  Yen-Lin Huang²  Francis Jacob²  Cécile Cumin² 

[1] Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Gold-Coast, QLD 4215, Australia;Ovarian Cancer Research, Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland;

关键词: epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition;    (EMT/MET);    glycosphingolipids;    gangliosides;    globosides;    cell migration/invasion;   

DOI  :  10.3390/biom11010062

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Every living cell is covered with a dense and complex layer of glycans on the cell surface, which have important functions in the interaction between cells and their environment. Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are glycans linked to lipid molecules that together with sphingolipids, sterols, and proteins form plasma membrane lipid rafts that contribute to membrane integrity and provide specific recognition sites. GSLs are subdivided into three major series (globo-, ganglio-, and neolacto-series) and are synthesized in a non-template driven process by enzymes localized in the ER and Golgi apparatus. Altered glycosylation of lipids are known to be involved in tumor development and metastasis. Metastasis is frequently linked with reversible epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process involved in tumor progression, and the formation of new distant metastatic sites (mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition or MET). On a single cell basis, cancer cells lose their epithelial features to gain mesenchymal characteristics via mechanisms influenced by the composition of the GSLs on the cell surface. Here, we summarize the literature on GSLs in the context of reversible and cancer-associated EMT and discuss how the modification of GSLs at the cell surface may promote this process.

【 授权许可】

Unknown