[Morphological differentiation and change in the lipid composition of neuroblastoma C1300 cells treated with gangliosides].

The effect of exogenous gangliosides on the morphological differentiation of neuroblastoma 1300 N18 cells was studied Simultaneously the content of gangliosides and lipid composition of the cells was investigated. Gangliosides were shown to increase the quantity of cells with long neurites. This effect depended on the dose of gangliosides. The addition of 50 and 100 micrograms of gangliosides per 4 ml of serum-free culture medium increased the quantity of cells with neurites by 38 and 63.4%, respectively. The level of morphological differentiation in cells cultivated with gangliosides was higher than in cells incubated with 5'-bromodeoxyuridine. Noticeable quantities of lysophosphatidylcholine (absent in the control) appeared in ganglioside-treated cells and the level of cholesterol increased. The amount of other lipid compounds in cells differentiated in the presence of gangliosides was similar, but not identical to the quantity of lipid compounds in cells differentiated by 5'-bromodeoxyuridine and by the serum-free medium.