Faculty Collaboration Database

Alteration of sialyl Lewis epitope expression in pterygium. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 1999 Jul;40(8):1631-6

Date

07/07/1999

Pubmed ID

10393028

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0033031734 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   16 Citations

Abstract

PURPOSE: Mucin-related antigens are abundantly expressed by the cells of the normal human conjunctiva. The pattern of these antigens in pterygium, and especially the role of Galbeta1-3GlcNAc alpha2,3-sialyltransferase (ST3Gal III), sialyltransferase necessary to build the sialyl-Le(a) (Lewis(a)) antigen, were studied.

METHODS: Immunoperoxidase staining was performed on 28 pterygia using different monoclonal antibodies: anti-M1 (against the peptidic core of gastric mucins encoded by MUC 5AC gene), anti-Le(a)(7LE), anti-sialyl Le(a)(NS 19-9), and anti-Le(b)(2-25LE). A serologic Lewis determination was done in 18 patients. ST3Gal III sialyltransferase expression was also studied in 10 healthy conjunctiva and 10 pterygia by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-dehydrogenase was used as an endogenous internal control.

RESULTS: First, Le(a), sialyl Le(a), and Le(b) immunoreactivities either decreased or were no longer detectable in pterygium goblet cells as opposed to normal conjunctiva. Second, unlike in pterygium, the Lewis immunoreactivity, which is mainly located in the surface epithelial cells in the normal conjunctiva, was occasionally restricted to the epithelial cells of the deep layers. However, M1 mucins did show an identical pattern expression in a normal conjunctiva and pterygium. ST3Gal III expression was significantly lower in pterygium (0.20+/-0.02 AU [arbitrary units]) than in normal conjunctiva (0.95+/-0.12 AU).

CONCLUSIONS: ST3Gal III gene is less expressed in pterygium than in normal conjunctiva. This observation could explain the decrease of sialyl Le(a) expression observed in pterygium by immunohistology.

Author List

Creuzot-Garcher C, Guerzider V, Assem M, Bron AM, Delannoy P, Bara J

Author

Mahfoud Assem PharmD Associate Professor in the School of Pharmacy Administration department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

ABO Blood-Group System
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Antibodies, Monoclonal
CA-19-9 Antigen
Conjunctiva
DNA Primers
Epitopes
Gangliosides
Humans
Immunoenzyme Techniques
Middle Aged
Mucins
Phenotype
Pterygium
RNA, Messenger
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
Sialyltransferases