A Comparison of Ganglioside Content and Distribution in Normal Murine Neural Tissue and Murine Neural Tumor Tissue

Gangliosides, specialized sialic acid-containing glycolipids found abundantly in the outer leaflet of the neural phospholipid bilayer membrane, have a profound effect on tumor cells which prompts investigation. Mammalian tumors have exhibited drastic abnormalities in ganglioside profile. Gangliosides of normal murine neural tissue and murine neural tumor tissue were extracted through dissolution in both chloroform:methanoland water-based solutions, isolated using Folch partitioning of polar lipids and non-polar lipids, and purified using ion exchange chromatography and desalting procedures. Ganglioside content was quantified using a Resorcinol assay, yielding a drastic disparity between normal neural tissue and tumor tissue. The distribution of specific gangliosides in the samples were analyzed using high performance thin-layer chromatography, showing a greater proportion of the more structurally complex gangliosides (e.g., GD1a, GT1b) in the healthy murine neural tissue and a greater proportion of the structurally simple gangliosides (e.g., GM3) in the murine neural tumor tissue. These results suggest a role of gangliosides in tumor proliferation and the possible use of the ganglioside profile as a diagnostic tool in cancer therapy.