Effect of benzyl-N-acetyl-α-galactosaminide on KL-6 mucin expression and invasive properties of a human pancreatic carcinoma cell line.

KL-6 mucin is a type of MUC1 mucin and its aberrant expression has been shown to be associated with aggressive metastasis and poor clinical outcome in tumors. The present study is to investigate the effects of benzyl-N-acetyl-α-galactosaminide (GalNAc-O-bn), an O-glycosylation inhibitor, on KL-6 mucin expression and invasive properties of a human pancreatic carcinoma cell line, Suit-2 cells. Expression profiles of KL-6 mucin in the cells pretreated with or without 5 mM GalNAc-O-bn for 48 h were examined by Western blotting and immunocytochemical staining and invasive properties were examined by transwell chamber assay. Western blotting and immunocytochemical staining showed that the expression profiles of KL-6 mucin changed significantly after GalNAc-O-bn treatment. Meanwhile, the invasive ability of Suit-2 cells decreased significantly after GalNAc-O-bn treatment (p < 0.05). These results suggest that glycosylation of KL-6 mucin may be closely related to aggressive behaviors of pancreatic cancer cells like metastasis and invasion.