AUTHOR=Das Koushik K. , Brown Jeffrey W. TITLE=3′-sulfated LewisA/C: An oncofetal epitope associated with metaplastic and oncogenic plasticity of the gastrointestinal foregut JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology VOLUME=11 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2023.1089028 DOI=10.3389/fcell.2023.1089028 ISSN=2296-634X ABSTRACT=

Metaplasia, dysplasia, and cancer arise from normal epithelia via a plastic cellular transformation, typically in the setting of chronic inflammation. Such transformations are the focus of numerous studies that strive to identify the changes in RNA/Protein expression that drive such plasticity along with the contributions from the mesenchyme and immune cells. However, despite being widely utilized clinically as biomarkers for such transitions, the role of glycosylation epitopes is understudied in this context. Here, we explore 3′-Sulfo-Lewis A/C, a clinically validated biomarker for high-risk metaplasia and cancer throughout the gastrointestinal foregut: esophagus, stomach, and pancreas. We discuss the clinical correlation of sulfomucin expression with metaplastic and oncogenic transformation, as well as its synthesis, intracellular and extracellular receptors and suggest potential roles for 3′-Sulfo-Lewis A/C in contributing to and maintaining these malignant cellular transformations.