Sialic acid is a biomarker of systemic inflammation. CD BioGlyco has developed several efficient Strategies for Sialic Acid Analysis including Sialic Acid Analysis by LC-MS, Sialic Acid-Specific Lectins, and more. We provide high-quality sialic acid analysis services in lung cancer using these methods.

Lung Cancer

Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor arising from epithelial cells. It is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, accounting for approximately 25% of all cancer deaths. The five-year survival rate for lung cancer patients is only 15%. The vast majority of lung cancer cases are due to long-term smoking. Lung cancer is generally divided into small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer, accounting for about 85% of cases. There are three main subtypes of adenocarcinoma (ADC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and large cell carcinoma (LCC). The study found that lung cancer is heterogeneous in both cell types and the biological behavior of specific cell types.

Sialylation in Lung Cancer

Sialic acids are abundant on many glycoproteins and glycolipids, often end-linked to the ends of glycans. Sialic acid is repeatedly attached to other sugars, such as galactose or N-acetylhexosamine, via α2-3- or α2-6-glycosidic bonds or polysialic acid in α2-8-bonds, all catalyzed by specific enzymes. ST6GalNAc-I (N-acetylgalactosaminide α-2,6-sialyltransferase 1) is an O-glycosyltransferase that catalyzes the addition of sialic acid to the starting N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) residue to form sialyl-Tn (STn) on glycoproteins. Recent studies have demonstrated that ST6GalNAc-I is overexpressed in NSCLC and can serve as a biomarker to differentiate lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) from SCC.

Fig.1 Aberrant glycosylation occurs in tumorigenesis and metastasis. (Gao, 2022)

Lung cancer-associated sialoglycoprotein is involved in the proliferation, invasion, and migration of NSCLC cells. Maackia amurensis lectin is a NeuNAcα(2-3)Galβ(1-4)GlcNAc/Glc-specific lectin with diagnostic potential in cancers of various origins. Studies have found that GM3-specific IgG in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from NSCLC patients and membrane glycoproteins from NSCLC cell lines are recognized by this lectin, and this lectin induces apoptosis in NSCLC cells. In a study, disease-associated serum proteins in patients with SCC and ADC were investigated using sialic acid-specific lectins (Maackia amurensis agglutinin and Sambucus nigra agglutinin) by affinity chromatography, two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).

CD BioGlyco has been focusing on sialic acid research for many years and has developed systematic strategies for sialic acid analysis. Our analysis service has been recognized by researchers from many countries. If you have an analysis project of sialic acid in lung cancer at the moment, please feel free to contact us, our experts will develop a personalized experimental plan according to each of your specific needs.

Reference:

1. Gao, Z.; et al. Abnormal sialylation and fucosylation of saliva glycoproteins: Characteristics of lung cancer-specific biomarkers. Current research in pharmacology and drug discovery. 2021.