Role of heparan sulfate proteoglycan in cell malignance

• Grant number: 18/25911-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2019
• End date: December 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Molecular Biology
• Principal Investigator: Helena Bonciani Nader
• Grantee: Larissa de Souza Teixeira
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 15/03964-6 - Glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans: interplay between structure and function, AP.TEM

Abstract

Syndecans (Syn) are heparan sulfate proteoglycans characterized as transmembrane receptors that act cooperatively with the interior of cells and components the extracellular matrix. Syn4 knockdown was performed to address its role in endothelial cell (EC) behavior. Syn4 knockdown showed changes in the amount and arrangement of the proteins essential for focal adhesion, evidenced by the decoupling of the binding of F-actin filaments (Cavalheiro et al., 2017), leading to the absence of heparan sulfate in the cell (HS). On the other hand, cells that overexpress EJ-ras oncogene (EJ-ras-EC) show increased synthesis and expression of HS and relevant changes in cell cycle and cell migration (Lopes et al., 2006b). Also, previous data from our laboratory show that xylosides can function as acceptors of the synthesis of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) (Moreira et al, 2004). Thus, the present project involves the study of normal cells (CE), knockdown syndecan cells (shRNA-Syn4-EC) and cells that overexpress the EJ-ras oncogene (EJ-ras-EC) against different stimuli seeking to understand the role of this glycoconjugate in cellular physiology.