Expression of genes that control core fucosylation in hepatocellular carcinoma: Systematic review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Changes in N-linked glycosylation have been observed in the circulation of individuals with hepatocellular carcinoma. In particular, an elevation in the level of core fucosylation has been observed. However, the mechanisms through which core fucose is increased are not well understood. We hypothesized that a review of the literature and related bioinformatic review regarding six genes known to be involved in the attachment of core fucosylation, the synthesis of the fucosylation substrate guanosine diphosphate (GDP)-fucose, or the transport of the substrate into the Golgi might offer mechanistic insight into the regulation of core fucose levels. AIM: To survey the literature to capture the involvement of genes regulating core N-linked fucosylation in hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: The PubMed biomedical literature database was searched for the association of hepatocellular carcinoma and each of the core fucose-related genes and their protein products. We also queried The Cancer Genome Atlas Liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) dataset for genetic, epigenetic and gene expression changes for the set of six genes using the tools at cBioportal. RESULTS: synthesis pathway, GMDS (27 samples) and TSTA3 (78 samples). In contrast, the other four genes had undergone amplification in 2 or fewer samples. CONCLUSION: pathway for generation of GDP-fucose, GMDS and TSTA3, likely contributes to the elevated core fucose observed in hepatocellular carcinoma.