Gangliosides containing glucosamine and galactosamine in transformed Tay-Sachs disease and normal human brain cell lines

Abstract

Human SV-40 transformed brain cell lines derived from Tay-Sachs disease (TSD) and normal fetal cerebra were grown in culture and analyzed for their ganglioside content. Both the TSD and normal cells contained GM3, GM2, and a novel triheoxyl N-acetylglucosamine-containing ganglioside. In order to increase tumorigenicity, the cells were cloned on soft agar. The cloned cells still contained GM3, GM2, and the N-acetylglucosamine-containing ganglioside. The per cent distribution of gangliosides in the TSD and normal SV-40 transformed cell lines was surprisingly similar despite the fact that the TSD transformed cells still lacked hexosaminidase A, the isoenzyme which is required to break down GM2.