EXPRESSION MECHANISM OF HUMAN UTERINE ENDOMETRIAL CANCER-SPECIFIC FUCOSYLATED CARBOHYDRATE CHAINS - ABERRANT ALPHA-1-]4-FUCOSYL-TRANSFERASES IN UTERINE ENDOMETRIAL CANCER-DERIVED CELL-LINES WITH TYPE-I CARBOHYDRATE CHAIN

Cells of uterine endometrial cancer cell line SNG-II were classified i nto two groups according to their reactivity with anti-uterine endomet rial cancer monoclonal antibody (MSN-1), whose recognition antigen is mainly the Lewis(b) antigens; those that strongly reacted with MSN-1 ( SNG-S group) and those that weakly reacted with it (SNG-W group). The SNG-S showed a higher activity of a 1-->4-fucosyltransferase activity than that of the SNG-W. The expression of Lewis(b) antigen was stronge r in the SNG-S than that in the SNG-W. Therefore, the expression of ut erine endometrial cancer-specific fucosylated carbohydrate could be ma inly controlled by alpha-fucosyltransferase activities.