Correlation of glycosyltransferases mRNA expression in extrahepatic bile duct carcinoma with clinical pathological characteristics
Xiao-Ling Jin, Shu-Sen Zheng, Bing-Sheng Wang and Hui-Li Chen
Nanjing, China
Author Affiliations: Department of General Surgery, Nanjing First Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210006, China (Jin XL); Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China (Zheng SS); Department of General Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China (Wang BS); and Key Laboratory of Glycoconjugate Research, Ministry of Health, Department of Biochemistry, Fudan University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200032, China (Chen HL) Corresponding Author: Xiao-Ling Jin, MD, PhD, Department of General Surgery, Nanjing First Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210006, China (Tel: 86-25-6624213-8538; Fax: 86-25-2269924; Email: xiaoling_jin@hotmail.com)
BACKGROUND: The incidence of extrahepatic bile duct carcinoma (EBDC) has been increasing, especially in aged people, but the glycobiology of the tumor is not elucidated. In this study we investigated the expressions of three glycosyltransferases in 35 patients with EBDC and 35 patients with benign biliary duct disease (BBDD) as well as their clinicopathological significance.
METHOD: The patients were divided into several subgroups by tumor differentiation, TNM stage, and invasion by the standards recommended by UICC. Tumor samples were immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen after resection, followed by mRNA determination of enzymes in the tissue using a mRNA selective reverse trancriptase-polymerase chain reaction kit. The mRNA levels of different groups were semi-quantitatively compared.
RESULTS: The mRNA levels of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V (GnT-V) and a subtype of α 2,3 sialyltransferases for N-glycans, ST3Gal-III were elevated 7.75 and 5.39 times in EBDC as compared with BBDD, respectively, and they were correlated to several clinicopathological factors including tumor advancement, differentiation, metastasis, and invasiveness. The mRNA expression of another sialyltransferase, ST6Gal-I, was also 0.63-fold higher in EBDC than in BBDD, but not involved in the clinicopathological characteristics.
CONCLUSION: The elevated expression of these three glycosyltransferases can be considered as an important molecular event in the occurrence and progression of EBDC.
2004, Vol. 3 
