Lectin Histochemistry of Fucosylated and Mannosylated Glycan Epitopes in Normal Breast Tissue, Fibroadenoma, and Ductal Carcinoma
Itandehui Belem Gallegos Velasco
Laboratorio de Glicobiología, Proteínica y Genómica del Cáncer, Centro de Investigación Facultad de Medina UNAM-UABJO. Facultad de Medicina y Cirugía, Universidad Autónoma “Benito Juárez” de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Carlos Josué Solórzano Mata
Laboratorio de Bioquímica de Proteínas y Glicopatologias Asociado a la Facultad de Odontología UABJO y al Centro de Investigación Facultad de medicina UNAM-UABJO, Oaxaca, México.
Pedro Antonio Hernández Cruz
*
Laboratorio de Glicobiología, Proteínica y Genómica del Cáncer, Centro de Investigación Facultad de Medina UNAM-UABJO. Facultad de Medicina y Cirugía, Universidad Autónoma “Benito Juárez” de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumour and the second leading cause of cancer mortality in women and is characterised by distinct shifts in the N-glycome. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of N-glycans in paraffin-embedded blocks from breast tissues diagnosed with breast carcinoma. Lectin histochemistry was used to examine the expression and distribution of N-glycans in paraffin-embedded blocks from breast tissues diagnosed with fibroadenoma and breast carcinoma, with 4 healthy tissue samples as controls, using lectins from Ulex europaeus I, Lens culinaris, Canavalia ensiformis, Lotus tetragonolobus and Triticum vulgaris. Results obtained with lectins from Ulex europaeus I and Canavalia ensiformis showed recognition of ducts in all the samples studied, whilst the lectins from Lens culinaris, Triticum vulgaris and Lotus tetragonolobus were observed to recognise the stroma and ducts in samples with fibroadenoma; however, in breast tissue without breast cancer and in samples with grade II and grade III breast cancer, recognition was observed only in the ducts. Statistical analysis did not reveal statistically significant differences. Our results suggest that variability in lectin affinity reflects alterations in cellular N-glycosylation between different stages of histological tumour progression; further studies are required to confirm these observations.
Keywords: Lectin histochemistry, breast carcinoma, fibroadenoma, N-glycans, fucosylation, mannosylation, invasive ductal carcinoma, glycosylation, wheat germ agglutinin, concanavalin A