Glycolipids of U-1242 MG were characterized because results of previous studies showed that exogenous gangliosides, especially GM3, inhibit PDGF-stimulated growth of this human glioma cell line. GM3 and GM2 are the major gangliosides; both separate as doublets with thin-layer chromatography. The major neutral glycolipid is glucocerebroside with nonhydroxy fatty acids, but paragloboside, ceramide dihexoside, globoside, and asialoGM2 (GA2) are also present. The coexistence in U-1242 MG of these gangliosides and the PDGF receptor, whose mitogenic signal is modulated by GM3 in these cells, suggests a possible functional relationship among them with respect to growth regulation.
Several lines of evidence suggest that gangliosides may play a role in the regulation of growth in many cell types. Here we describe the effects on growth of two different cell lines by the addition of two different chemicals which have been reported to elevate the cellular ganglioside content through different mechanisms. Growth of neuroblastoma (Neuro 2a) cells in medium containing fetal bovine serum was inhibited in a dose-dependent fashion by both exogenous GM1 ganglioside and NeuAc2en, an inhibitor of sialidase activity. In contrast, growth of glioma cells (U-1242 MG) was not affected by exogenous GM1 or NeuAc2en in the presence of as little as 1% calf serum. However, NeuAc2en inhibited growth of U-1242 MG cells stimulated by platelet-derived growth factor in serum-free medium. These results demonstrate that the growth inhibitory effects of ganglioside on U-1242 MG but not Neuro 2a cells can be counteracted by serum, suggesting that the mechanisms through which gangliosides affect cell growth may be different for different growth factors and cell types.
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