Characterization of the antigenic determinant on HSB-2 cells shared with myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) using monoclonal antibodies

Function and molecular modeling of the interaction between human interleukin 6 and its HNK-1 oligosaccharide ligands

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is endowed with a lectin activity for oligosaccharide ligands possessing the HNK-1 epitope (3-sulfated glucuronic acid) found on some mammalian glycoprotein N-glycans (Cebo, C., Dambrouck, T., Maes, E., Laden, C., Strecker, G., Michalski, J. C., and Zanetta, J. P. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 5685-5691). Using high affinity oligosaccharide ligands, it is demonstrated that this lectin activity is responsible for the early dephosphorylation of tyrosine residues found on specific proteins induced by interleukin 6 in human resting lymphocytes. The gp130 glycoprotein, the signal-transducing molecule of the IL-6 pathway, is itself a molecule possessing the HNK-1 epitope. This indicates that IL-6 is a bi-functional molecule able to extracellularly associate its alpha-receptor with the gp130 surface complex. Computational modeling indicates that the lower energy conformers of the high affinity ligands of IL-6 have a common structure. Docking experiments of these conformers suggest that the carbohydrate recognition domain of IL-6 is localized in the domain previously identified as site 3 of IL-6 (Somers, W., Stahl, M., and Seehra, J. S. (1997) EMBO J. 16, 989-997), already known to be involved in interactions with gp130.

Recombinant human interleukins IL-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-4, IL-6, and IL-7 show different and specific calcium-independent carbohydrate-binding properties

A method was developed for the determination of putative lectin activities of cytokines. It involved the immunoblotting measurement of the quantity of these cytokines unbound to a series of different immobilized glycoconjugates and displacement of the bound cytokines with oligosaccharides of known structures. This method allows demonstrating that the following interleukins specifically recognize different oligosaccharide structures in a calcium-independent mechanism: interleukin-1alpha binds to the biantennary disialylated N-glycan completed with two Neu5Acalpha2-3 residues; interleukin-1beta to a GM4 sialylated glycolipid Neu5Acalpha2-3Galbeta1-Cer having very long and unusual long-chain bases; interleukin-4 to the 1,7 intramolecular lactone of N-acetyl-neuraminic acid; interleukin-6 to compounds having N-linked and O-linked HNK-1-like epitopes; and interleukin-7 to the sialyl-Tn antigen. Because the glycan ligands are rare structures in human circulating cells, it is suggested that such activities could be essential for providing specific signaling systems to cells having both the receptors and the oligosaccharide ligands of the interleukin at their cell surface.

Glycoproteins and lectins in cell adhesion and cell recognition processes

The discovery of endogenous lectins having specific and high affinity for the carbohydrate portions of glycoproteins has opened up new directions in the field of cell adhesion and cell recognition. Two endogenous lectins, termed as CSL and R1, initially isolated from the rat cerebellum and having a wide distribution in mammalian tissues, have been shown to participate in essential mechanisms of cell adhesion. The membrane-bound lectin R1 seems to be involved in transient recognition between neuronal cells, followed by elimination of the glycoprotein ligands at the surface of the recognized cell. In contrast, CSL is a molecule involved in adhesion between various normal or transformed cells since it participates in the formation of tight junctions. The glycoprotein ligands recognized with higher affinity by these two lectins seem to possess a special structure which defines a sub-class of oncofetal HNK-1 glycans. The over-expression of the glycoprotein ligands of these lectins in most transformed cells provides new tools for understanding the underlying mechanism of malignant transformation as well as the generation of signals through cell adhesion.

Expression of oligodendroglia and Schwann cell markers in human nervous system tumors. An immunomorphological study and western blot analysis

Sixty tumors of the central and peripheral nervous system and seven brain metastases of extracranial carcinomas were examined using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method to study the expression of myelin basic protein (MBP), myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) and the HNK-1/Leu-7 epitope. The immunocytochemical findings were compared with and correlated to Western blot results. None of the tumor types, including oligodendrogliomas, neurinomas and neurofibromas, expressed MAG and MBP, whereas myelin sheaths and their remnants within the tumors yielded specific immunoreactions. In contrast, the HNK-1/Leu-7 antibodies labelled the majority of the tumors tested including oligodendrogliomas and Schwann cell tumors. As demonstrated by Western blot experiments the HNK-1/anti-Leu-7 antibodies exhibited positive reactions with diverse polypeptides both in tumors and in non-neoplastic brain tissue at positions not corresponding to MAG. This suggests that the epitope recognized by HNK-1/Leu-7 antibodies is shared by a variety of unrelated proteins in normal and neoplastic tissues. Our results strongly indicate the absence of detectable amounts of MBP and MAG in oligodendrogliomas and Schwann cell tumors. The immunomorphological and immunochemical findings clearly showed the wide distribution of the HNK-1 epitope within different tumor types of the central and peripheral nervous system. In conclusion, the data demonstrate that specific cell markers for human oligodendrogliomas and Schwann cell tumors are still lacking.

Malignant transformation in hepatocytes is associated with the general increase of glycoprotein ligands specifically binding to the endogenous lectin CSL

Several hepatoma cell lines and hepatic ascite tumour cells were studied for the presence of glycoprotein ligands of an endogenous lectin, the "Cerebellar Soluble Lectin" (CSL). This lectin is also present in hepatocytes in vivo and in vitro and can be detected biochemically and immunologically. In transformed cells, the level of CSL glycoprotein ligands is increased 50-fold as compared to the control cells. Such an increase is not observed for the ligands of the plant lectin, concanavalin A, which is, as CSL, a D-mannose-binding lectin. These results indicated that the changes in glycans during malignant transformation, in these cells, is specifically important for minor glycans binding to CSL.

Shared carbohydrate antigenic determinant between the myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) and lung cancers. An immunohistochemical study by an anti-MAG IgM monoclonal antibody

An immunochemical study has shown that monoclonal anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) antibodies identify some membrane glycoproteins from cell lines of small cell lung cancer. We investigated immunohistochemically 85 specimens of lung cancer from resection and autopsy using one of the monoclonal antibodies against MAG. One adenocarcinoma was highly reactive with the anti-MAG antibody, and in three small cell carcinomas immunostained tumor cells were distributed either singly or in occasional small clusters. These results show that a shared antigenic determinant with MAG appears on the tumor cells. MAG is believed to play the role of antigen in the development of carcinomatous polyneuropathy, and contributes to cancer development by its reduction of natural killer (NK) cell activity.