Different adhesion and migration properties of human HCV29 non-malignant urothelial and T24 bladder cancer cells: role of glycosylation

In tumour cells. alterations ill cellular glycosylation may play a key role in their metastatic behaviour. This study used cell lines having very different behaviour in vivo: HCV29 non-malignant transitional epithelium and T24 bladder transitional cell carcinoma. These differences ill behaviour might be due in part to differences in cellular glycosylation patterns. Glycan chain analysis of their glycoproteins was performed with the use of specific lectins. The functional role of carbohydrates was studied by treating these cells with swainsonine, an inhibitor of Golgi alpha-mannosidase II. and in vitro adhesion and migration assays. The adhesion of swainsonine-treated HCV29 and T24 cells was increased oil fibronectin and type IV collagen by 1.5- and 2-fold, respectively, whereas adhesion oil laminin was virtually unchanged after swainsonine-treatment in HCV29 cells and was increased in T24 cells. Swainsonine treatment reduced the rate of T24 cell migration by 20 %. We concluded that beta 1-6 branched tri- and tetraantennary cornplex-type glycans have an important function in adhesion and migration ill the Studied cell lines. These data Support the view that oligosaccharides are involved in several steps of the metastatic process. (c) 2005 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.