Glycosphingolipid expression in solid tumours and transformed cell lines

Glycosphingolipids are assumed to play a crucial role in cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions, including cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Furthermore, cell surface glycolipid profile changes in the so called "social disorders", such as malignant transformation. To better investigate these modifications, the ganglioside composition in different solid tumours and in two transformed cell lines was analyzed. In some of these models we also tried to correlate the pattern of gangliosides to the key enzymes involved in their metabolism. The results we obtained can be summarized as follows:(1), meningiomas with or without chromosome 22 deletion: predominance of ganglioside GD3 in the former and of ganglioside GM3 in the latter. Correlation between GM3/GD3 ratio and SAT-2 activity; (2), mammary carcinomas developed in MMTV/c-neu transgenic mice: accumulation of GM3-derived species. The different ganglioside distribution seems to correlate with the tumour size; (3), Sarcoma Galliera-strain cells SGS/3A and normal syngenic murine fibroblasts FG: transformed cells exhibit a lower activity of sialyltransferases (SAT-1, SAT-2, SAT-4) compared to normal fibroblasts, suggesting a possible correlation with the ganglioside pattern. The neuraminidase activity seems to correlate to the glycoprotein sialic acid content; (4), 3T3 normal murine fibroblasts and SVT2 transformed cells: GM3 is absent in 3T3, while it accounts for the main ganglioside species in SVT2. On the contrary, GM2 present in a large amount in normal fibroblasts, is practically absent in transformed cells. No correlation has been observed between ganglioside profile and glycosyltransferase activities so far examined.