Lewis y antigen promotes the proliferation of ovarian carcinoma-derived RMG-I cells through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway

BACKGROUND: Lewis y antigen is difucosylated oligosaccharide and is carried by glycoconjugates at cell surface. Elevated expression of Lewis y has been found in 75% of ovarian tumor, and the high expression level is correlated to the tumor's pathological staging and prognosis. This study was to investigate the effect and the possible mechanism of Lewis y on the proliferation of human ovarian cancer cells. METHODS: We constructed a plasmid encoding α1,2-fucosyltransferase (α1,2-FT) gene and then transfected it into ovarian carcinoma-derived RMG-I cells with lowest Lewis y antigen expression level. Effect of Lewis y on cell proliferation was assessed after transfection. Changes in cell survival and signal transduction were evaluated after α-L-fucosidase, anti-Lewis y antibody and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor treatment. RESULTS: Our results showed that the levels of α1,2-FT gene and Lewis y increased significantly after transfection. The cell proliferation of ovarian carcinoma-derived RMG-I cells sped up as the Lewis y antigen was increased. Both of α-L-fucosidase and anti-Lewis y antibody inhibited the cell proliferation. The phosphorylation level of Akt was apparently elevated in Lewis y-overexpressing cells and the inhibitor of PI3K, LY294002, dramatically inhibited the growth of Lewis y-overexpressing cells. In addition, the phosphorylation intensity and difference in phosphorylation intensity between cells with different expression of α1,2-FT were attenuated significantly by the monoantibody to Lewis y and by the PI3K inhibitor LY294002. CONCLUSIONS: Increased expression of Lewis y antigen plays an important role in promoting cell proliferation through activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in ovarian carcinoma-derived RMG-I cells. Inhibition of Lewis y expression may provide a new therapeutic approach for Lewis y positive ovarian cancer.