Expression of gangliosides GD3 and 3'-isoLM1 in autopsy brains from patients with malignant tumors.

Three autopsy brains from patients who succumbed to malignant gliomas have been analyzed in various regions with regard to their ganglioside content. The study focused on the gangliosides GD3 and 3'-isoLM1, which in a previous study of biopsies were found to be associated with these tumors. In particular, 3'-isoLM1, was suggested to be a marker for malignant gliomas. The highest concentrations (200-1,000 nmol of sialic acid/g wet weight) of GD3 was found in specimens of macroscopically pure tumor, where the proportion of GD3 was, at the most, 78% (range, 11-78%) of the total ganglioside sialic acid compared with <10% in normal brain tissue. The proportion of the total ganglioside sialic acid made up by GD3 was also elevated in the periphery of the tumor and in the same region in the opposite hemisphere, where no tumor cells were detected. In four of eight brain metastases of various carcinomas. GD3 was >10% of the total ganglioside sialic acid (range, 3-37%). The ganglioside 3'-isoLM1, as determined by TLC-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using a specific monoclonal antibody (SL-50), was not present at detectable levels in any of the macroscopically homogenous tumor areas. It was, however, found in the periphery of the tumor, in the corpus callosum, and at highest concentrations in the region of the opposite hemisphere corresponding to the tumor. The concentration varied between 0.1 and 6.0 nmol/g wet weight of tissue. The 3'-isoLM1 ganglioside was not detected in normal gray or white matter or in the normal corpus callosum, but in one of three breast cancer metastasis, one of two low differentiated cancer metastases, and one stomach cancer. The concentration was 1-4 nmol/g wet weight. These results indicate a unique distribution of the gangliosides GD3 and 3'-isoLM1 and suggest that they play distinct roles in interaction between tumor cells and brain.