Fucosylated CD147 promotes the malignant progression of ovarian cancer and is associated with glycolysis

Abstract Background This study investigated the molecular structural relationship between CD147 and Lewis y antigen in ovarian cancer cells, and explored the molecular mechanisms by which Lewis y leads to the malignant progression of ovarian cancer. Methods The expression of CD147 and Lewis y in three epithelial ovarian cell lines (RMG-I, COC1 and HO8910) and their sub-lines (RMG-I-H, COCI/DDP and HO8910/PM) with high metastatic potential and chemotherapy resistance was detected by quantitative real-time PCR, immunocytochemistry, and western blotting. The structural relationship between Lewis y and CD147 was determined by immunoprecipitation. Gene expression enrichment analysis was performed to elucidate the possible role of CD147 in the response to Lewis y in ovarian cancer. Results The expression of CD147, Lewis y, and FUT1 mRNA was significantly lower in ovarian cancer cell lines than in cells with a higher malignancy grade. Lewis y was an important component of CD147, and was predominantly expressed in the highly glycosylated form of CD147. Genes associatd with the CD147-mediated response to Lewis y were mainly involved in cytokine-mediated signaling pathways and hexose metabolic processes. The expression of IL1A (IL-1α), which was highest in ovarian cancer, was significantly higher than in borderline, benign and normal ovarian tissues, and it was positively correlated with Lewis y in ovarian cancer. Conclusion CD147 was modified by fucosylation, and the effect of fucosylated CD147 on promoting the malignant progression of ovarian cancer may be related to glycolysis.