ORIGINAL ARTICLE Upregulation of Fucosyltransferase 3, 8 and protein O-Fucosyltransferase 1, 2 genes in esophageal cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) Zahra Sadeghzadeh 1 & Ayyoob Khosravi 2,3 & Marie Saghaeian Jazi 1,2 & Jahanbakhsh Asadi 1,2 Received: 29 October 2019 /Revised: 16 February 2020 /Accepted: 21 February 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract Recently, studies have shown that Fucosylation plays an important role in the invasion and metastatic process of CSLCs. Understanding the expression pattern of fucosyltransferase (FUT) genes may help to suggest better-targeted therapy strategies for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The study aimed to address the expression pattern of FUT gene variants in esophageal CSLCs and parental adherent cells. Sphere formation method was used to enrich CSLCs. Expression of FUT genes was examined in tumor sphere and parental adherent cells using the RT-PCR method and then relative expression of detected variants was performed by the Real-Time PCR method in both groups. The detected FUTs, also, were assessed in fresh ESCC tumors and the matched healthy controls. Analysis of The cell surface carbohydrate Lewis x (LeX, CD15) was performed by flow cytometry. Molecular analysis showed that the expression of FUT 3, 8 and POFUT1, 2 genes in tumorsphere were significantly higher than parental adherent cells. Analysis of fresh ESCC tumor tissues and the matched healthy controls showed that FUT8 and POFUT1, 2 genes in contrast to FUT 3 have higher expression in tumor tissues than controls. Flow cytometric analyses revealed that tumorsphere and their parent cells do not differ significantly in Lewis x surface marker. The present study showed that FUT 3, 8 and POFUT1, 2 genes upregulated in esophageal CSLCs in comparison to adherent cells. Understanding the expression pattern of FUT gene variants may help to suggest better-targeted therapy strategies for ESCC. Keywords ESCC cancer . Fucosyltransferase genes . Lewis x . Cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) Introduction Esophageal cancer (EC) is the eighth common cancer and the sixth world’ s leading cause of death among cancers [2]. Histologically, there are two main types of esophageal can- cers: esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and ade- nocarcinoma (ADC) [16]. ESCC is much more common in the so-called Asian EC belt, which begins from the center and north of China, extending from Central Asia and North India to Golestan province in Iran [10]. Reducing ESCC mortality requires early prevention through reduced risk factors and secondary prevention through early detection and effective targeted therapy. Molecular changes in the esophageal tissue may be a suitable target for early diagnosis and treatment [35]. Post-translational modifications (PTMs), such as phos- phorylation, acetylation, and glycosylation, adjust many cel- lular functions [41]. Recently, studies have shown that Fucosylation, as one of the most important PTMs, associated with cancer pathogenesis [45]. Fucosyltransferases (FUTs) are enzymes have been involved in the synthesis of glycoconjugates, such as glycolipids and glycoproteins, and up to date, 13 of these enzymes have been identified in human genome including FUT1–11 and protein-o-fucosyltransferase 1–2 (pofut1–2) [6, 20]. In mammals, fucosylated glycans play important roles in many biological processes such as immune responses and metastatic behavior of Cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) [3, 8]. CSLCs are a minority population of cancer cells that have self-renewal and tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis in the patients [7]. Several methods have been developed for enrichment of CSLCs including the sphere * Jahanbakhsh Asadi dr.asadi@goums.ac.ir 1 Metabolic Disorders Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran 2 Stem Cell Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran 3 Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Advanced Medical Technologies, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran Glycoconjugate Journal https://doi.org/10.1007/s10719-020-09917-z