title: Demonstration of direct glycosylation of nondegradable glucosylceramide analogs in cultured cells.
abstract: After uptake by various cells (human skin fibroblasts, rat neuroblastoma B 104, human neuroblastoma SHSY5Y, murine cerebellar cells), a radioactive and a fluorescent analog of a nondegradable glucosylceramide with sulfur in the glycosidic link were glycosylated to a cell-specific pattern of glycolipid analogs. These results, for the first time, show that a glucosylceramide analog can be conveyed from the plasma membrane of cultured cells to those Golgi compartments that function in the early glycosylation steps of glycolipids. This observation is further confirmed by the fact that the cationic ionophore monensin, known to impede membrane flow from proximal to distal Golgi cisternae, inhibited the formation of complex ganglioside analogs but not those of lactosylceramide, sialyl lactosylceramide (GM3), and disialyl lactosylceramide (GD3).
authors.affiliation: Institut für Organische Chemie und Biochemie Universität, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schwarzmann
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Pütz
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Albrecht
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D005963:Glucosylceramides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006031:Glycosylation; D006056:Golgi Apparatus / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008985:Monensin / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D005963:Glucosylceramides; D008985:Monensin