These results indicate that sialyl Lewis x plays important roles in tumor metastasis. These results provide future directions aiming at inhibition of tumor metastasis by manipulating sialyl Lewis x expression in tumor cells. Such binding leads into extravasation of tumor cells and establishment of tumor metastasis. Such recognition leads into inhibition of NK cell lectin binding to MHC I molecules on tumor cells. Thus, tumor cells are regarded as foreign cells and killed.
Y denotes carbohydrate-binding proteins.