Mining cancer genomes for copy number alterations identifies glycosylation enzymes as oncogenic drivers
as a bona fide glyco-oncogene whose genomic amplification drives proliferation, oncogene addiction, and poor prognosis, effects that can be reversed by targeted pathway inhibition. Mechanistic studies show that B4GALT5 promotes cancer cell survival via integrin-Src signaling under anchorage-independent conditions. Collectively, these findings establish glycosylation enzymes as a druggable oncogene class and provide a resource of high-confidence CNA-based cancer regulatory genes.
Authors
- Nicola Normanno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7158-2605)
- Pranoy Sahu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7596-9639)
- Matteo Lo Monte (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6279-2942)
- Francesca Carlomagno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1483-4677)
- Pasqualina Ambrosio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0860-7638)
- Domenico Russo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2171-657X)
- Seetharaman Parashuraman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5113-4592)
- Alberto Luini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8729-2549)
- Ilenia Agliarulo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0565-6493)
- Riccardo Rizzo
- Silvia Soddu
- Francesco Russo
Institutions
- Institute of Nanotechnology (GB)
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate Franco Salvatore (Italy) (IT)
- Institute for Experimental Endocrinology and Oncology (IT)
- Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS "Fondazione G. Pascale" (IT)
- Cellular Therapeutics (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IT)
- National Research Council (IT)
- University of Naples Federico II (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2026-04-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2521848123
- Primary Topic
- Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Fondazione AIRC per la ricerca sul cancro ETS
- Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca