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Polysialic acid overexpression in malignant astrocytomas

  • Neurooncological Observations
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Abstract

Objective

Polysialic acid (PSA) is a carbohydrate binding on the neural cell adhesion molecule NCAM and impedes cell-cell interactions. It prevents neural progenitor cell differentiation and promotes their migration. Highly malignant tumours like small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) also overexpress PSA and this correlates with a negative prognosis.

Methods

Intra-operatively collected biopsies from 30 patients with different astrocytoma grades were immuno-histochemically examined to identify expression of PSA.

Results

Astrocytoma grade I and II had 4% PSA expressing cells whereas in grade III and IV the number of PSA expressing cells was 45%. This difference was statistically highly significant.

Conclusion

In this short communication we show that highly malignant astrocytomas express significantly more PSA compared to less malignant astrocytomas. Cleavage of PSA could be used in future therapeutic approaches.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Schittenhelmstrasse 10, 24105, Kiel, Germany

    Athanasios K. Petridis, Hanna Wedderkopp, Hans Hermann Hugo & Hubertus Maximilian Mehdorn

Authors
  1. Athanasios K. Petridis
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  2. Hanna Wedderkopp
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  3. Hans Hermann Hugo
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  4. Hubertus Maximilian Mehdorn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Athanasios K. Petridis.

Additional information

Comment

This article studies the amount of polysialic acid (PSA) found in human astrocytomas (grade I–IV). PSA is a carbohydrate which binds neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). This prevents neural progenitor cell-differentiation and promotes their migration. PSA overexpression has been found in highly malignant tumours, such as small cell lung carcinoma, and this overexpression is associated with a negative prognosis.

The authors perform immunohistochemical analysis of 30 astrocytomas, and present a statistically significant higher PSA overexpression in grade III and IV astrocytomas, compared with grade I and II. If this observation can be verified prospectively in future studies involving greater number of tumor specimens, then PSA may become a useful marker with which to grade anaplasia in human astrocytic neoplasms.

James Rutka

The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Canada

The PSA antibody 5A5 was a gift from Urs Rutishauser (mouse monoclonal IgM)

Electronic Supplementary Material

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Supplemental Fig. 1

PSA in CNS-Development. Western blot (WB) analysis of whole brain lysates in two 7 day old pups and in two adult Bulb/c animals. There is a PSA band at 200–250 kDa in the 7 day brains. The amount of PSA in the whole brain lysates of adult animals was not detectable especially after striping the blot for the detection of b-actin as a protein loading control (JPEG 17 kb)

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Petridis, A.K., Wedderkopp, H., Hugo, H.H. et al. Polysialic acid overexpression in malignant astrocytomas. Acta Neurochir 151, 601–604 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-009-0324-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-009-0324-3

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