[Glycosphingolipids of human gynecological malignant cell lines in vitro]

We focused on the glycosphingolipids as one of the various biological phenotypes on the cell membrane of malignant tumor cells. The composition of three glycosphingolipids in seven human cell lines, derived from gynecological malignant tumors, was analyzed biochemically and immunochemically. Among the seven human cell lines, lactosylceramide sulfate was characteristically detected in these endometrial cancer cell lines, HEC-108, SNG-II, and SNG-M. In contrast, no sulfoglycolipids were found in the other malignant cell lines. HEC-108, which forms a moderately differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma in nude mice, had a much higher ratio of lactosylceramide sulfate/GM3 than SNG-II and SNG-M cell lines, both of which grow as poorly differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma in nude mice. TLC-immunostaining revealed that the sialyl type I carbohydrate chain with polysialyl groups was preferentially contained in the two sarcoma-derived cell lines and not in the five carcinoma-derived ones, while the type I carbohydrate chain was detected in all lines examined. Furthermore, the carcinoma cell lines were found to express A,B,H,Le(a),Le(b),Le(x) and Le(y) glycolipids, whereas the sarcoma cell lines scarcely expressed them. These results suggest that the expression of lactosylceramide sulfate is one of the biological characteristics of the three endometrial cancer cell lines, and the fucosylation to terminal residues of the type I and type II carbohydrate chains might be reduced in uterine sarcoma- and ovarian sarcoma-derived cell lines.