Gangliosides in human uveal melanoma metastatic process

The inability of current therapy to prevent metastases arising from uveal melanoma often results in patient mortality. With the goal of developing a treatment for metastasis, gangliosides were studied as potential tumor-associated antigens. Our report describes the production of a metastatic liver variant (MH) from a human uveal melanoma cell line (SP6.5). Cells were injected into nude mouse spleens and liver metastases collected 2 months later. After 21 days of in vitro subculture, the cells were re-injected into normal nude mice spleen; 10 cycles (MH10) were performed. Gangliosides were extracted, purified, chromatographed on HPTLC plates and sprayed with a resorcinol-HCl reagent, the sialic acid spots being quantified by densitometry. Gangliosides were analyzed in each metastatic liver variant and compared with the SP6.5 s.c. tumor. The results showed a significant increase in GM3 and a significant decrease in GD3 and GD2 in the last metastatic variants obtained (MH5, MH8, MH9 and MH1O) compared with the primary s.c. tumor, SP6.5. Such evolution in the ganglioside pattern was maintained throughout the progression of the different liver variants. Our results indicate that precursor ganglioside GM3 and gangliosides GD3 and GD2 could be associated with neoplastic evolution of malignancy of human uveal melanoma in nude mice.