Changes in the expression levels of α1,3 FucT-VII and carbohydrate product SLeX have been reported in certain types of malignant transformations. However, the specific role of FucT-VII in human colorectal carcinoma is still not clear. We evaluated the expression of FucT-VII in tumor specimens from 30 colorectal carcinoma patients by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. The alteration of metastatic potential of LOVO cells before and after α1,3 FucT-VII gene transfection was also assayed. The expression change of glycoprotein CD24 and carbohydrate antigen SLeX after stable transfection of LOVO was also examined in vitro. Higher mRNA and protein expression of FucT-VII were observed in colorectal tumors compared with adjacent normal ones. The cell chemotactic migration and invasion were enhanced after α1,3 FucT-VII transfection in LOVO cells. There was a positive correlation between α1,3 FucT-VII mRNA expression and lymph node status (p=0.009) and AJCC stage (p=0.007), similar correlation was also observed at protein level (p=0.042 and 0.022, respectively). Overexpression of α1,3 FucT-VII promoted the expression of CD24 and SLeX in LOVO cells. Our findings suggest that α1,3 FucT-VII might play a role in colorectal carcinoma metastases by promoting the carbohydration of glycoprotein CD24.

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