The glycobiology of ovarian cancer progression: phenotypic switches and microenvironmental influences

Abstract The malignant transformation of a cell is associated with multiple genetic and epigenetic aberrations, resulting in a systemic alteration of its dynamical state. As a result, the morphology of cancer cells differs from that of their untransformed counterparts. One of the predominant morphological changes is observed in the glycocalyx, the dynamical sugar-rich envelope of the cell that regulates information transfer between cells and their surrounding milieu. Specific changes in the chemical and physical nature of the glycocalyx upon oncogenesis may be either common in, or distinct to, different cancers. What is further interesting is that in the same cancer, dynamical alterations of glycocalyx structure and function may take place as an effect of the metastatic transition of cells through different microenvironmental locales. One such case, where cancer cells transition between dramatically distinct milieu is ovarian cancer, typified by a transcoelomic route of metastasis. Here, we briefly review the salient glycobiological changes observed during ovarian cancer progression that associate with the phenotypic switches seen as part of dissemination. In the light of the recent emerging evidence of the association between regulation of morphology, mechanical forces, and glycan-lectin expression, we propose how phenotypic plasticity associated with glycobiological mechanisms could help cancer niches survive during metastasis.