Oligosaccharide chains are added to proteins destined for the plasma membrane as

Question

Oligosaccharide chains are added to proteins destined for the plasma membrane as they are translated in the endoplasmic reticulum. one of the sugars added to the core oligosaccharide is N-, also called sialic acid. Scientists discovered that tumor cells frequently over express sialic acid on their surface, and hypothesize that the over expression contributes to a tumor cell's ability to metastasize. The sialic acid residues are not usually recognized by the immune system.

What strategies would you use to design therapeutic agents to kill these types of tumor cells?

review question for a upcoming exam.

Explanation / Answer

Glycosylation is heavily altered in the malignant transformation in compare to healthy cells. Which is caused by the differential expression of glucosyltransferase and glycosidase within the malignant cells. This results in the reduced adhesion of the tumor cells to extracellular matrix. Which mask the detection of the tumor cells from various immune cells as well as complement activation. The upregulation of sialylated glycan changes the N-glycolyl-neuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) instead of N-acetyl-neuraminic acid into cell surface glycans. Which leads the modulation of sialic acid-binding lectins on immune cells. The expression of N-glycolyl-neuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) can also cause inflammation induced cancer.

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