Sialyl Lewis x expression in cervical scrapes of premalignant lesions

Sialylated oligosaccharides of glycoproteins and glycolipids have been implicated in tumour progression and metastases. Altered expression of glycosidic antigens has been reported in cervical cancer. In cervix premalignant lesions, an increased expression of sialic acid has been reported. In the present study we determined the expression profiles of the glycosidic antigens Tn, sialyl Tn (sTn), Lewis a (Le(a)), sialyl Lewis a (sLe(a)), Lewis x (Le(x)) and sialyl Lewis x (sLe(x)) in cervical scrapes with cytological diagnoses of normal, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LGSIL) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HGSIL). Cervical scrapings were collected to detect tumour antigens expressions by flow cytometry using monoclonal antibodies. Cytometry analysis of Tn, sTn, Le(a) and Le(x) did not reveal differences at the expression level among groups. The number of positive cells to sLe(a) antigen increased in the HGSIL group with respect to the normal group (p=0.0495). The number of positive cells to sLe(x) antigen in the samples increased with respect to the grade of squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL) (p<0.001, Mann-Whitney U test). The intensity of expression of this antigen increased in the HGSIL samples with respect to normal samples (p<0.0068). sLe(x) antigen could be a candidate to be used as biomarker for the early diagnosis of cervical cancer. [Velazquez-Marquez N, Santos-Lopez G, Jimenez-Aranda L, Reyes-Leyva J and Vallejo-Ruiz V 2012 Sialyl Lewis x expression in cervical scrapes of premalignant lesions. J. Biosci. 37 999-1004] DOI 10.1007/s12038-012-9261-z