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Genetic and Enzymatic Basis for the Differential Expression of G_M2 and G_D2 Gangliosides in Human Cancer Cell Lines¹

Department of Oncology, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, 1-12-4, Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852, Japan [S. Y., K. F., H. S., K. F.]; Immunology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10021 [S. R., K. O. L.]; and Department of Tumor Immunology, Metropolitan Institute for Medical Science, Tokyo, 113, Japan [T. T.]

Using ß1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.92) complementary DNA, the correlation of gene expression, enzyme activity, and expression of ganglioside antigens was analyzed in 20 human tumor cell lines. In many lines, G_M2 and/or G_D2 were the most complex structures examined. Northern blot analysis revealed 5.2- and 3.0-kilobase mRNAs in almost all cell lines expressing G_D2 and/or G_M2. Some melanoma lines, however, showed no bands although they expressed fairly high levels of G_D2. These cell lines expressed very high levels of 2,8-sialyltransferase and the resulting product, G_D3. Semiquantitative RT-PCR demonstrated that even cell lines with no bands in Northern blot contained 0.4–2.5% of mRNA level in the highest expressing cell line. These results indicate that G_D2 expression on individual cell lines is regulated not only by the expression level of the N-acetylgalactosaminyl transferase but also by the amount of its precursor structure (G_D3) and 2,8-sialyltransferase present in the cells. ß1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase activities and mRNA levels generally correlated quite closely. A few lines, however, showed lower enzyme activities than expected from their mRNA levels, indicating the possibility that the enzyme is being regulated by translational or post-translational modification such as phosphorylation and glycosylation as well as by transcriptional regulation. Depending on their patterns of ganglioside synthesis and expression, the lines examined were classified into 6 groups which were characteristic of different tumor cell types.

¹ This work was supported by grants-in-aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan, a grant-in aid from Naito Foundation, and by grants from the USPHS (CA-08478 and CA-60680).

² To whom all requests for reprints should be addressed.

Received 6/15/93. Accepted 9/ 8/93.

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