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Terminal 1,4-linked N-acetylglucosamine in Helicobacter pylori–associated Intestinal Metaplasia of the Human Stomach and Gastric Carcinoma Cell Lines

Bibiana Ferreira, Nuno T. Marcos, Leonor David, Jun Nakayama and Celso A. Reis

Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology (BF,NTM,LD,CAR) and Medical Faculty (LD,CAR), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, and Department of Pathology, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan (JN)

Correspondence to: Celso A. Reis, Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology, University of Porto (IPATIMUP), Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n; 4200-465, Porto, Portugal. E-mail: celso.reis{at}ipatimup.pt

Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection is associated with the development of gastric lesions including gastritis, intestinal metaplasia (IM), and gastric carcinoma. In humans, Hp is found almost exclusively in the foveolar epithelium of the gastric mucosa and rarely colonizes the deeper portions where mucous cells of the glands produce mucins with terminal 1,4-GlcNAc O-glycans. This structure exerts antimicrobial activity against Hp. The development of IM in the stomach is characterized by Hp clearance from the metaplastic glands and by major alterations in the expression of mucins and mucin–carbohydrates. The present work evaluated whether terminal 1,4-GlcNAc and sialyl-Tn antigen are implicated in the process of Hp clearance from metaplastic glands by analyzing the expression of these antigens in different types of IM—complete (n=12) and incomplete (n=8)—and in gastric cell lines. Terminal 1,4-GlcNAc was not detected in IM except in a single foci of one case, indicating that this structure is not implicated in the clearance of Hp from IM, in contrast to what is observed in normal gastric mucosa. None of the gastric carcinoma cell lines studied showed terminal 1,4-GlcNAc, suggesting that they do not display a gastric gland mucous cell phenotype and therefore are useful models for in vitro Hp studies. Finally, sialyl-Tn antigen colocalizes with MUC2 mucin and is present in all cases of complete and incomplete IM, suggesting that either or both can be implicated in Hp clearance from IM. (J Histochem Cytochem 54:585–591, 2006)

Key Words: N-acetylglucosamine • intestinal metaplasia • Helicobacter pylori • sialyl-Tn • O-glycosylation

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