title: Gangliotetraosylceramide is a T cell differentiation antigen associated with natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity.
abstract: Thymocytes and splenic T cells from C57BL/6 mice were analyzed for their content of glycosphingolipids (GSL) by high performance liquid chromatography. Glucosylceramide and lactosylceramide were shown to be the major GSL of thymocytes from mice 1 to 30 weeks of age, whereas a third GSL, asialo GM1, was found only in trace amounts. In splenic T lymphocytes, however, asialo GM1 was shown to increase in concentration with age. It reached a peak at 5 to 10 weeks of age, at a concentration 10 to 20 times that of thymocytes or neonatal splenic T cells. These studies confirm the previous finding with antibodies to asialo GM1, that this glycosphingolipid is a true differentiation antigen in the mouse. Subsequent analysis of C57BL/6 bg/bg (beige) mice, which lack natural killer function, demonstrates that levels of asialo GM1 in the splenic T cell population do not increase with age but remain at the level of 2- to 3-week-old normal mice, indicating that asialo Gm1 may be an important cell surface component in the generation of natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D005732:Gangliosides; D005963:Glucosylceramides; D006017:Glycolipids; D006028:Glycosphingolipids / Q000276:immunology*; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D007790:Lactosylceramides; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000201:enzymology; D051379:Mice; D008806:Mice, Inbred AKR; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: C011258:G(A1) ganglioside; D005732:Gangliosides; D005963:Glucosylceramides; D006017:Glycolipids; D006028:Glycosphingolipids; D007790:Lactosylceramides