title: Growth inhibition by sialosyl cholesterol of rat glioma cells.
abstract: Synthesized sialosyl cholesterol (?-sialosyl cholesterol) induced growth inhibition of rat astrocytoma cells (GA-1) or schwannoma cells (354-A) which was detected as a decline of cell growth curves and a suppression of DNA syntheses. The incubation time to initiate growth inhibition of GA-1 was as short as 10 min and that to complete the action was 2 h after the initiation of drug-stimulation, indicating an immediate incorporation of sialosyl cholesterol into glioma cells. The morphological alteration of 354-A, but not GA-1, from an epithelioid cell shape to a spindle-like shape was also detected by the stimulation and ascertained by fluorescence visualization of cytoskeletons: the reorganization of actin filaments distributing as a plasmalemmal undercoat to form stress actin fibers and no detectable change in distribution of tubulins. The results provide a possibility that sialosyl cholesterol incorporated into the plasma membrane may cause growth inhibition of both glioma cells and morphological differentiation of schwannoma cells mostly through alterations of membrane characteristics and/or cytoskeletal anchorage, and also suggest the therapeutic potential of sialosyl cholesterol for brain tumors.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Biochemistry and Bioregulation Research, Nagoya City University Medical School, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abe-Dohmae
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tanaka