Phyllodes tumor exhibits an aggressive growth. The expression of many
biological markers has been explored to discriminate between different grades of
phyllodes tumor and to predict their behavior. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implications of Axl and ST6GalNAcII in
phyllodes tumors. Real-time PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemical were used to analyze differential expression of ST6GalNAcII and Axl in
phyllodes tumor (PT) cell lines and tissue specimens. RNAi assay, ECM invasion assay, and tumorigenicity assay were used to analyze the altered expression of ST6GalNAcII gene effects on the expression of Axl and invasive ability of
phyllodes tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. Compared to benign
tumors, borderline and malignant ones showed a remarkable increase in
mRNA levels of Axl and ST6GalNAcII gene, and it was higher in malignant
tumor cells than in borderline
tumor cells. When ST6GalNAcII was silenced, compared to the control, the expression level of Axl was significantly reduced in malignant
tumor cell transfectants and knockdown of ST6GalNAcII gene significantly inhibited invasive activity in malignant
tumor cells. The high expression of ST6GalNAcII and Axl was significantly correlated with
tumor grade and distance
metastasis by immunohistochemical analysis. Axl and ST6GalNAcII expression increases with increasing
tumor grade in mammary
phyllodes tumors.
ST6GalNAc II might be participated in the glycosylation of Axl, and this Axl glycosylation may mediate the tumorigenicity, invasion, and distant
metastasis of PT cells.