Characterization of colonic cellular glycoconjugates in colitis and cancer-prone tamarins versus colitis and cancer-resistant primates.

Differences in colonic secretory glycoconjugates (ie, mucin) between normal and ulcerative colitis-prone patients have been noted. Similar differences may occur in a corresponding primate model, the cotton-top tamarin (CTT), Saguinus oedipus, a New World monkey which suffers from spontaneous chronic colitis and colon cancer. Lectin reagents were used to characterize and compare colonic cell surface, cytoplasmic, and secretory glycoconjugates of 9 clinically healthy cotton-top tamarins, 7 colitis-susceptible, cancer-resistant tamarins (Callithrix jacchus, Saguinus fuscicollis), and 8 colitis and cancer-resistant primates (Aotus trivirgatus, Saimiri sciureus, Macaca fascicularis, and Macaca mulatta). Paraffin-embedded colonic sections were labeled with ten different biotinylated lectins and visualized by the avidin-biotin peroxidase (ABC) method. Significant differences were demonstrated in the pattern of lectin staining between the colitis-resistant and colitis-prone groups of primates. The differences were noted with Griffonia simplicifolia-I (GS-I), Dolichos biflorus agglutinin (DBA), peanut agglutinin (PNA) before and after neuraminidase, Ricinus communis agglutinin-I (RCA-I), soybean agglutinin (SBA), Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I (UEA-I), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), and succinylated WGA (S-WGA). Significant differences between the CTT and phylogenetically related colitis-prone but cancer-resistant tamarins were demonstrated with SBA, UEA-I, and PNA after desialylation with neuraminidase. These results suggest that differences in colonic cellular glycoconjugates between colitis- and cancer-susceptible species versus colitis-susceptible, cancer-resistant species may be associated with risk of cancer.