The significance of post-translational removal of ?-DG-N in early stage endometrial cancer development.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Endometrial cancer is one of the most common gynecological malignancies affecting post-menopausal women, yet the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Dystroglycan (DG) is a large glycoprotein, consisting of ?- and ?-subunits that are non-covalently associated with each other. Modifications to ?-DG have been linked to a variety of cancers, where the N-terminus of ?-DG (?-DG-N) is post-translationally removed by a furin-like enzyme. However, the functional significance of ?-DG-N removal is unknown. Our previous studies have established that the ?-DG cleavage enzyme furin is significantly up-regulated in endometrial cancer. This study aimed to investigate the importance of ?-DG-N removal in post-menopausal endometrial cancer. We demonstrated that ?-DG-N removal predominantly occurred in early stage endometrial cancer tissues, and that the cleaved ?-DG-N was significantly elevated in the uterine lavage of early grade endometrial cancer patients. Furthermore, ?-DG-N removal significantly decreased the tight junction integrity and polarity of the endometrial epithelial cells, promoting the loss of polarity markers scribble and atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) and reducing the trans-epithelial electrical resistance. The removal of ?-DG-N also sensitized the cells for estrogen-dependent proliferation. These results strongly suggest that ?-DG-N removal plays an important role in early stage development of endometrial cancer, and that the elevated levels of ?-DG-N in uterine fluid may provide a biomarker for early detection of endometrial cancer.
SUBMITTER: Heng S
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5669861 | biostudies-other | 2017 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
ACCESS DATA