| Research Abstract |
Expression of β1,4 galactosyltransferase (β1,4GT) gene products in eleven gynecological cancer cell lines was examined. A 4.7 kb mRNA and protein (54,000 Da and 57,000 Da) were detected by Northern blot and western blot analysis. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that β1,4GT was localized in the Golgi or ER of tumor cells. An intense β1,4GT mRNA signal was detected in ovarian and uterine cervical cancer cells, whereas the level of β1,4GT mRNA was very low in uterine endometrial cancer cells. We confirmed that expression of β1,4GT mRNA corresponded to expression of β1,4GT protein.These results suggested that expression of the β1,4GT gene products is higher in cervical and ovarian cancer cells than those in endometrial cancer cells. Then we transfected human β1,4GT cDNA into uterine endometrial cancer cell line, SNG- M.Northern blot analysis was used to select 5 stable transfectants. β1,4GT mRNA of 5 trasfectants were overexpressed by approximately 6-fold compared to vector control cells ancd parental SNG-M cells. Further we analyzed the biological effects of overexpression of β1,4GT in endometrial cancer cells. In vitro study has showed a significant increase of cell growth and increase of adhesion activity to laminin and collagen type IV compared to vector control cells. These data indicate that overexpression of β1,4GT gene products may change the biological properties of uterine endometrial cancer cells.
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