Ganglioside and morphological changes in mouse embryo cells with time.
Ganglioside and morphological changes were observed in C3H/10T1/2CL8 cells during a 4-year period of maintenance in the laboratory. The cellular morphology at confluency, as determined by scanning electron microscopy, changed from being polygonal and flattened to a fusiform shape with some piling up of cells. The saturation density increased about three-fold and the level of the simplest ganglioside GM3 (N-acetylneuraminylgalactosylglucosylceramide) increased about two-fold. While the reasons for the alterations are unknown, the data suggest a relationship among ganglioside composition, cellular morphology and regulation of cell growth. The possible implications of such biochemical and biological changes on studies comparing normal and transformed cells are discussed.
D002478:Cells, Cultured / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000378:metabolism*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D013997:Time Factors
D005732:Gangliosides