Endothelial Cell Glycosylation: Regulation and Modulation of Biological Processes

N-acetylgalactosamine glycans function in cancer cell adhesion to endothelial cells: A role for truncated O-glycans in metastatic mechanisms

Failure in O-glycan chain extension exposing Tn antigen (GalNAc-O-Ser/Thr) is clinically associated with cancer metastasis. This study provides evidence of a functional role for aberrant GalNAc-glycans in cancer cell capture from blood flow and/or adhesion to endothelium. Adhesion of breast cancer cells to human umbilical vein endothelial cell monolayers was modelled under sweeping flow. Adhesion of metastatic, GalNAc glycan-rich, MCF7 and ZR 75 1 cells to endothelium increased over timepoints up to 1.5 hour, after which it plateaued. Adhesion was significantly inhibited (p < 0.001) when cell surface GalNAc-glycans were masked, an effect not seen in GalNAc glycan-poor, non-metastatic BT 474 cells. Masking irrelevant galactose- and mannose-glycans had no inhibitory effect. Imaging of cells post-adhesion over a 24 hour time course using confocal and scanning electron microscopy revealed that up to 6 hours post-adhesion, motile, rounded cancer cells featuring lamellipodia-like processes crawled on an intact endothelial monolayer. From 6-12 hours post-adhesion, cancer cells became stationary, adopted a smooth, circular flattened morphology, and endothelial cells retracted from around them leaving cleared zones in which the cancer cells proceeded to form colonies through cell division.

Cell model of inflammation

Chemical and physical stimuli trigger a cutaneous response by first inducing the main epidermal cells, keratinocytes, to produce specific mediators that are responsible for the initiation of skin inflammation. Activation modulates cell communication, namely leucocyte recruitment and blood-to-skin extravasation through the selective barrier of the vascular ECs (endothelial cells). In the present study, we describe an in vitro model which takes into account the various steps of human skin inflammation, from keratinocyte activation to the adhesion of leucocytes to dermal capillary ECs. Human adult keratinocytes were subjected to stress by exposure to UV irradiation or neuropeptides, then the conditioned culture medium was used to mimic the natural micro-environmental conditions for dermal ECs. A relevant in vitro model must include appropriate cells from the skin. This is shown in the present study by the selective reaction of dermal ECs compared with EC lines from distinct origins, in terms of leucocyte recruitment, sensitivity to stress and nature of the stress-induced secreted mediators. This simplified model is suitable for the screening of anti-inflammatory molecules whose activity requires the presence of various skin cells.