AUTHOR=Fonseca Leonardo Marques da , Silva Vanessa Amil da , Freire-de-Lima Leonardo , Previato José Osvaldo , Mendonça-Previato Lucia , Capella Márcia Alves Marques TITLE=Glycosylation in Cancer: Interplay between Multidrug Resistance and Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition? JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology VOLUME=6 YEAR=2016 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2016.00158 DOI=10.3389/fonc.2016.00158 ISSN=2234-943X ABSTRACT=

The expression of unusual glycan structures is a hallmark of cancer progression, and their functional roles in cancer biology have been extensively investigated in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) models. EMT is a physiological process involved in embryonic development and wound healing. It is characterized by loss of epithelial cell polarity and cell adhesion, permitting cell migration, and thus formation of new epithelia. However, this process is unwanted when occurring outside their physiological limit, resulting in fibrosis of organs and progression of cancer and metastasis. Several studies observed that EMT is related to the acquisition of multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype, a condition in which cancer cells acquire resistance to multiple different drugs, which has virtually nothing in common. However, although some studies suggested interplay between these two apparently distinct phenomena, almost nothing is known about this possible relationship. A common pathway to them is the need for glycosylation, a post-translational modification that can alter biological function. Thus, this review intends to compile the main facts obtained until now in these two areas, as an effort to unravel the relationship between EMT and MDR.