ST6GALNAC5 Expression Decreases the Interactions between Breast Cancer Cells and the Human Blood-Brain Barrier

Abstract

The ST6GALNAC5 gene that encodes an α2,6-sialyltransferase involved in the biosynthesis of α-series gangliosides, was previously identified as one of the genes that mediate breast cancer metastasis to the brain. We have shown that the expression of ST6GALNAC5 in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells resulted in the expression of GD1α ganglioside at the cell surface. By using a human blood-brain barrier in vitro model recently developed, consisting in CD34+ derived endothelial cells co-cultivated with pericytes, we show that ST6GALNAC5 expression decreased the interactions between the breast cancer cells and the human blood-brain barrier.

Keywords

• breast cancer
• blood-brain barrier
• gangliosides
• GD1α
• ST6GALNAC5
• sialyltransferase
• brain metastasis