Cholesterol masks membrane glycosphingolipid tumor-associated antigens to reduce their immunodetection in human cancer biopsies

Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are neoplastic and normal/cancer stem cell markers and GSL/cholesterol-containing membrane rafts are increased in cancer cell plasma membranes. We define a novel means by which cancer cells can restrict tumor-associated GSL immunoreactivity. The GSL-cholesterol complex reorients GSL carbohydrate to a membrane parallel, rather than perpendicular conformation, largely unavailable for antibody recognition. Methyl-β-cyclodextrin cholesterol extraction of all primary human tumor frozen sections tested (ovarian, testicular, neuroblastoma, prostate, breast, colon, pheochromocytoma and ganglioneuroma), unmasked previously "invisible" membrane GSLs for immunodetection. In ovarian carcinoma, globotriaosyl ceramide (Gb3), the GSL receptor for the antineoplastic Escherichia coli-derived verotoxin, was increased throughout the tumor. In colon carcinoma, Gb3 detection was vastly increased within the neovasculature and perivascular stroma. In tumors considered Gb3 negative (neuroblastoma, Leydig testicular tumor and pheochromocytoma), neovascular Gb3 was unmasked. Tumor-associated GSL stage-specific embryonic antigen (SSEA)-1, SSEA-3, SSEA-4 and globoH were unmasked according to tumor: SSEA-1 in prostate/colon; SSEA-3 in prostate; SSEA-4 in pheochromocytoma/some colon tumors; globoH in prostate/some colon tumors. In colon, anti-SSEA-1 was tumor cell specific. Within the GSL-cholesterol complex, filipin-cholesterol binding was also reduced. These results may relate to the ill-defined benefit of statins on cancer prognosis, for example, prostate carcinoma. We found novel anti-tumor GSL antibodies circulating in 3/5 statin-treated, but not untreated, prostate cancer patients. Lowering tumor membrane cholesterol may permit immune recognition of otherwise unavailable tumor-associated GSL carbohydrate, for more effective immunosurveillance and active/passive immunotherapy. Our results show standard immunodetection of tumor GSLs significantly under assesses tumor membrane GSL content, impinging on the current use of such antigens as cancer vaccines.