Fucosylation enhances activity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes against breast cancer

Fucosylation is a process by which fucose sugar groups are added to cell surface receptors. This process is mediated by fucosyl transferases that attach terminal fucose groups to acceptor molecules on the cell surface. Fucosylation of cord blood stem cells and human regulatory T cells (Treg) were shown to enhance cord blood engraftment and Treg homing to inflamed tissues. Since tumor tissues have a component of inflammation, we hypothesized that fucosylation of antigen specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) ex vivo will enhance their migration into tumors and subsequent killing of tumor cells. Specifically we tested whether ex vivo fucosylation of CTL that target the HLA-A2 restricted HER2/neu-derived peptide, E75, enhances E75-CTL migration and cytotoxic functions.