Expressions of Lewis antigens in human non-small cell pulmonary cancer and primary liver cancer with different pathological conditions.

The expressions of three X series Lewis antigens, including Lewis X (Le(x)), sialyl Lewis X (SLe(x)) and sialyl dimeric Lewis X (SDLe(x)) were studied with immuno-histochemical methods in human non-small cell pulmonary cancer (NSCPC) and primary liver cancer (PLC) with different pathological conditions. The Lewis antigens are mainly expressed on the cell surfaces, medially or slightly in the cytoplasm, but not in the cell nuclei of the cancer tissues. The regions adjacent to the cancer tissues do not express any Lewis antigens. The positive rates of these antigens in NSCPC were within the range of 75% to approximately 86%. There was no apparent difference in positive rates between the cases with different differentiation and the presence or absence of metastasis in peripheral lymph nodes, nor among the three antigens, except that the positive rate of SDLe(x) was lower (about 56%) in the cases with well/medium differentiation and without metastasis. However, the expression-intensities (SI indexes) of all three antigens were significantly higher in the samples of poor differentiation and with metastasis as compared to those with well/medium differentiation and without metastasis. The two sialyl Lewis antigens increased more significantly than non-sialylated Le(x). The expressions of these antigens were also observed in the peripheral lymph nodes with metastasis, but not in those without metastasis. The positive rates of Le(x), SLe(x) and SDLe(x) in human primary liver cancer were 83.3%, 88.9% and 77.8%, respectively. In the cases with cancer cell thrombosis (CCT) in portal vein (an index of metastasis), the expressions of all these three antigens were stronger than those in the cases without CCT. SLe(x) was the most abundant and most highly increased Lewis antigen on the surface of NSCPC and PLC, especially in the cases with poor differentiation and metastasis. In the study of the enzymatic basis of the increased Lewis antigens in PLC by using Northern blot, it was found that the level of alpha1,3 FucT-III/VI mRNA in PLC tissues was much higher than that in the adjacent regions, and more significantly higher in the cancer tissues from patients with CCT in portal vein. In contrast, the expression of alpha1,3 FucT-VII was rather low in cancer tissues and not different from the adjacent regions in spite of the presence or absence of CCT. These results reveal that the SLe(x) in PLC is mainly synthesized by alpha1,3 FucT-III/VI (especially VI) and is the most important Lewis antigen involved in the metastasis of PLC.