Cancer surface carbohydrate role

Gorelik E, Galili U, Raz A. On the role of cell surface carbohydrates and their binding proteins (lectins) in tumor metastasis. Cancer Metast Rev 2001 20 245-277. 

Gene knockout experiments in mice clearly indicate that cell surface carbohydrates play many vital roles in development and health. Evidence suggests that cell surface carbohydrates function in many cellular activities by interacting with their microenvironment in vivo. Future studies should identify mechanisms underlying activation of cells by cell surface carbohydrates, which are vital for understanding the activities of malignant cancer cells. 

GSLs play crucial roles in functions of the nervous system and skin, cell growth and differentiation, infections, cancer, and immune response [1, 2, 12], Owing to their strategic position in membranes, they interact with toxins, bacteria, and viruses. They form membrane lipid rafts and present the attached carbohydrates as cell-surface receptors and, thus, serve as portals of entry for pathogens through carbohydrate-protein interactions [13]. For example, HIV entry is mediated by GalCer receptors of the host cells [14],... 

Carbohydrates play important roles in recognition of substances on the cell surface and in transduction of signals. Carbohydrates are involved closely in various diseases such as infection and cancer. For these reasons, increasing efforts have been made to conduct research for dmg development, focusing on carbohydrates in the biological body. This section will outline development of new medicines targeting carbohydrates. In addition, recent advances in... 

Many studies have been carried out using anti-carbohydrate antibodies for cancer diagnosis. These studies reveal a correlation between particular carbohydrate antigens and poor clinical prognosis, including metastasis (88,90-92). Therefore, specific carbohydrate structures expressed on the cancer cell surface may play a role in metastasis. The section below describes two hypotheses on carbohydrate-dependent cancer metastasis by selectin-dependent and selectin-independent mechanisms. 

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