Structural characterization of the disialogangliosides of murine peritoneal macrophages

Sialoglycosphingolipids (gangliosides) have been increasinglyimplicated as regulators of membrane signaling events. Macrophageganglioside patterns dramatically increase in complexity whenmurine peritoneal macrophages are stimulated in vivo with theappearance of the sialidase-sensitive monosialoganglioside GMlb(cisGMl) as a major component Gangliosides from stimulated murineperitoneal macrophages were separated into monosialo and polysialofractions and the polysialo fraction structurally characterizedby enzymatic, chemical, and mass spectra methods. All detectablecomponents of the polysialo fraction were determined to be disialogangliosides.Treatment of the polysialo fraction with Clostridium perfringenssiali-dase produced mostly the sialidase-resistant monosialoganglioside,GMIa, and a minor amount of asiaJoGMI. Perio-date oxidationand mass spectrometry analyses demonstrated the lack of tandemdisialo moieties which indicated the absence of GD1b or GD1c(GDI) entities. The combined data showed the major disialogangliosidesconsisted of GDla entities comprising IV3-NeuAc,II3NeuAc-GgOse4Cer,IV3-NeuGc,II3NeuAc-GgOse4Cer, IV3NeuAc,II3NeuGc-GgOse4Cer, andIV3-NeuGc,II3NeuGc-GgOse4Cer. Minor components consisted ofGDl entities, IV3NeuAc, III6NeuAcGgOse4Cer, IV3NeuGc, III6NeuGcGgOse4Cer,and also positional iso-mer(s) of GDl(NeuAc, NeuGc). These isomericcomponents were identified by collision analysis and tandemmass spectrometry. Consistent with previous analyses, the cer-amideportion of all polysialo (disialo) gangliosides contained solelyC18 sphingosine with C16 and C24 fatty acid moieties. Theseresults, combined with the previous characterization of macrophagemonosialogangliosides, indicate normal murine macrophage gangliosidebiosynthesis proceeds along the "a" ganglioside pathway, e.g.,GM3GM2GMlaGDl, and the proposed asialogan-glioside or "" pathway,asialoGMlGMlbGDl. The presence of totally sialidase-sensitivegangliosides appears to be characteristic of functional murineperitoneal macrophages while they are reduced in geneticallyimpaired cells. ganglioside GDla ganglioside GDl murine macrophages tandem mass spectrometry collision induced dis-association electrospray ionization