Expression of CD44 variants in lung cancer and its relationship to hyaluronan binding

We examined the expression of CD44 variant forms and their binding to hyalu ronan (HA) in lung cancer cell lines. There was no relationship between the level of expression of CD44 variants and HA binding in different lung canc er cell lines. The expression of CD44v6 and CD44E in some cell lines was no t always associated with HA binding. There was no relationship between the tissue pathological type and CD44 expression or HA binding. Deglycosylation by neuraminidase induced CD44-HA binding in human lung cancer cell lines. Our findings suggest that the EIA binding ability of CD44, which is negativ ely regulated by glycosylation, might be a more important factor in tumorig enesis or metastasis than the expression of CD44 variant forms.