Identification of stemness-related glycosylation changes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Altered glycosylation is a hallmark of cancer associated with therapy resistance and tumor behavior. In this study, we investigated the glycosylation profile of stemness-related proteins OCT4, CIP2A, MET, and LIMA1 in HNSCC tumors.

METHODS: Tumor, adjacent normal tissue, and blood samples of 25 patients were collected together with clinical details. After tissue processing, lectin-based glycovariant screens were performed.

RESULTS: Strong correlation between glycosylation profiles of all four stemness-related proteins was observed in tumor tissue, whereas glycosylation in tumor tissue, adjacent normal tissue, and serum was differential.

CONCLUSIONS: A mannose- and galactose-rich glycosylation niche associated with stemness-related proteins was identified.