Ganglioside-mediated modulation of cell growth, growth factor binding, and receptor phosphorylation

Glycosphingolipids added exogenously in cell culture are slowly incorporated into plasma membranes, inhibit cell growth, and modify growth behavior ( Laine , R. A., and Hakomori, S. (1973) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 54, 1039-1045; Keenan , T. W., Schmid, E., Franke , W. W., and Wiegandt , H. (1975) Exp. Cell Res. 92, 259-270). With the availability of purified growth factors and serum-free culture conditions in recent years, we have been able to examine this phenomenon in mouse Swiss 3T3 cells in greater detail with the following results. 1) Cell growth (cell number increase) in serum-free medium was specifically inhibited by the presence of GM1 and to a lesser extent by GM3, but not by NeuAcnLc4 , although the gangliosides were incorporated equally well into cell membranes. GM3 inhibited both platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)- and epidermal growth factor-stimulated mitogenesis determined by thymidine incorporation, while GM1 could only inhibit PDGF-stimulated mitogenesis. NeuAcnLc4 had no effect on mitogen-stimulated thymidine incorporation. 2) The concentration-dependent binding of 125I-PDGF binding to cells indicated that cells whose growth was inhibited by GM1 or GM3 showed an increased affinity for PDGF as compared to cells grown without addition of ganglioside, while the total number of receptors stayed the same. Addition of ganglioside did not affect the binding of 125I-EGF. 3) No direct interaction was observed between gangliosides and growth factors as evidenced by the lack of competition by ganglioside-containing liposomes for cellular binding of 125I growth factors. 4) GM1 and GM3, but neither NeuAcnLc4 nor Gb4 , inhibited the PDGF-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation by membrane preparations of a 170,000 molecular weight protein, which is probably the PDGF receptor. Thus, the level of gangliosides GM1 and GM3 in membranes may modulate PDGF receptor function by affecting the degree of tyrosine phosphorylation and may alter the affinity of the receptor for PDGF.