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Glycoprotein Synthesis and Secretion in Human Colon Cancers and Normal Colonic Mucosa¹

Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Glycoprotein synthesis and secretion were measured in short-term organ culture of normal and neoplastic colonic mucosa from 11 patients undergoing colectomy for colon cancer. Mucosal explants were incubated for up to 24 hr with [³H]glucosamine, which was incorporated into both explant and secreted glycoproteins. Structural and functional viability was documented by morphological studies that showed excellent preservation of architectural detail and biochemical studies that documented a steady increase in glycoprotein synthesis during 24-hr incubation. The major difference between normal and neoplastic mucosa was a 35% decrease (p < 0.02) in the incorporation of [³H]glucosamine into tumor explants, as compared to the amount incorporated into normal explants from the same patient. The rate of secretion of radiolabeled glycoproteins into the medium did not differ significantly. Separation of explants into particulate and cytosol fractions showed that the overall decrease in glycoprotein synthesis in tumor explants was primarily due to a marked reduction in particulate glycoprotein synthesis in the cancer tissue.

¹ Supported by Grant CA 17505, Clinical Investigator Award AM 00138, and Training Grant AM 07121 from the NIH.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

Received 1/26/78. Accepted 5/30/78.