Fig. 8

Sialyl-glycolipid stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 (SSEA4) and CMP-N-acetylneuraminate-β-galactosamide-α-2,3-sialyltransferase 2 (ST3GAL2) expression in ovarian cancer cells correlates with a mesenchymal phenotype and patient prognosis. a Flow cytometric analyses of SSEA4-phycoerythrin (red line) and respective isotype control (black line) on primary cells from patient-matched ovarian cancer cells. Numbers indicate percentage of positive cells compared with the isotype control. b Quantification of SSEA4 expression on six patient-matched primary ovarian cancer cell lines expressed as median fluorescence intensity (MFI) ratio. The MFI ratio is calculated as the MFI of SSEA4-stained cells divided by the MFI of the respective isotype control-stained cells. c Overview of patient-derived ovarian cancer sample characteristics. PE pleural effusion, TM treatment, FIGO International Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetricians. d Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of genes related to mesenchymal (SNAI1, FN1, ZEB2) and epithelial (CLDN3) phenotypes in the six patient-matched primary ovarian cancer cell lines. Error bars represent SD (performed in triplicates). ud undetected). e and f ST3GAL2 expression in ovarian cancer significantly correlates with poor prognosis (e), particularly in patients who underwent chemotherapy (f). HR hazard ratio