A novel O-acetylated ganglioside detected by anti-G sub(D2) monoclonal antibodies

Murine monoclonal antibody (MAb) 3F8 was previously shown to react with disialoganglioside G sub(D2), but not with G sub(D3), G sub(T1b), G sub(D1b), G sub(D1a), G sub(M1), G sub(M3) and G sub(M4). However, when the base-treatment step was omitted from the standard neuroblastoma ganglioside extraction procedure, immuno-thin-layer-chromatography (ITLC) using 3F8 and other anti-G sub(D2) MAbs revealed a new ganglioside band, abbreviated as NG (Rf 0.342) besides G sub(D2) (Rf 0.183). The data provided the first evidence that O-acetylated G sub(D2) is a naturally occurring ganglioside derivative in human tumors and that it could cross-react with most anti-G sub(D2) antibodies.