Glyco-fingerprint as risk factor of UC-associated cancer

A cross-sectional study revealed a distinct glycoimmuno-profile along the colitis-associated carcinoma cascade. It could represent a biomarker to identify ulcerative colitis (UC) patients at risk of UC-related cancer earlier [1].

The same group previously described differential expression of glycans in colitis and cancer contexts mediated by MGAT5 glycogene [2]. The aim of the present study was to elucidate if this constitutes a new mechanism in colitis-associated carcinoma. A cohort of paraffin samples from colitis-associated carcinoma patients at different stages of carcinogenesis (colitis, dysplasia, colon cancer) were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. In vivo studies were conducted in MGAT5 wild-type and knock-out mice.

Preliminary results showed a distinct glycoprofile in stroma, which is characterised by a decreased expression of branched N-glycans in colitis, followed by increased expression in dysplasia and colon carcinoma stages. This was corroborated by RNA sequencing analysis on colon of a colitis-associated cancer mouse model. Colonic T cells isolated from both MGAT5 wild-type and knock-out mice also presented a distinct glycoprofile along colitis-associated carcinoma development.

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   1. Dias A, et al. ECCO-IBD 2020, OP13.
   2. Dias AM, et al. Hum Mol Genet. 2014 May 1;23(9):2416-27.

Posted on 14 April 20205 January 2021