Background: The Lewisx trisaccharide, also referred to as the CD15 antigen, is a diagnostic marker used to distinguish Hodgkin's lymphoma from other lymphocytic cancers. However, the role of such fucosylated structures remains poorly understood, in part because carriers of Lewisx structures on Hodgkin's Reed-Sternberg cells have not been identified.
Methods: GalMBP, an engineered carbohydrate-recognition protein that binds selectively to oligosaccharides with paired terminal galactose and fucose residues, has been used in conjunction with proteomic and glycomic analysis to identify glycoprotein carriers of Lewisx and related glycan structures in multiple Hodgkin's Reed-Sternberg cell lines.
Results: Multiple glycoproteins that bind to GalMBP and carry CD15/Lewisx have been identified in a panel of six Reed-Sternberg cell lines. The most commonly identified Lewisx-bearing glycoproteins are CD98hc, which was found in all six cell lines tested, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and DEC-205, which were detected in five and four of the lines, respectively. Thus, several of the most prominent cell adhesion molecules on the lymphomas carry this characteristic glycan epitope. In addition, the Hodgkin's Reed-Sternberg cell lines can be grouped into subsets based on the presence or absence of less common Lewisx-bearing glycoproteins.
Conclusions: CD98 and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 are major carriers of CD15/Lewisx on Reed-Sternberg cells. Binding of DC-SIGN and other glycan-specific receptors to the Lewisx epitopes on CD98 and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 may facilitate interaction of the lymphoma cells with lymphocytes and myeloid cells in lymph nodes.