Glycosphingolipids of Clonal Lines of Mouse Neuroblastoma and Neuroblastoma X L Cell Hybrids

Glycosphingolipid analyses were performed on three clonal lines of the mouse C1300 neuroblastoma (N2A, NA, and NB41A) and on three neuroblastoma X L cell hybrid lines (NLI-15A, NLI-7A, and NLI-11A) differing in teeir membrane electrical activities. Striking variations of ganglioside but not of neutral glycosphingolipid patterns were observed in the neuroblastoma lines. No differences were observed between the glycosphingolipid patterns of neuroblastoma cells (N2A) grown in suspension as “undifferentiated” neuroblasts or in monolayer as “differentiated” neurons. The neuroblastoma X L cell hybrid lines exhibited neutral glycosphingolipid patterns similar to the sum of the the parental neuroblastoma and L cell patterns, whereas their ganglioside patterns differed from those of the two parents. Despite their widely differing membrane electrical activities, the glycosphingolipid profiles of these three hybrid lines were generally similar.