Biosynthesis of gangliosides in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes. Determination of the net synthesis of individual gangliosides by incorporation of labeled N-acetylmannosamine.

The ganglioside content of rat hepatocytes increases several-fold during the first 6 days in monolayer culture. To correlate increased levels with rates of de novo synthesis, the incorporation of N-acetyl-[6-3H]D-mannosamine into individual gangliosides was determined. The calculation of synthetic rates was made possible by the simultaneous measurement of the specific radioactivity of the immediate sialic-acid donor, CMP-Neu5Ac. The CMP-Neu5Ac content of hepatocytes was found by HPLC analysis to be 30.5 nmol/g of plated cells. The specific radioactivity of this precursor pool reached a constant plateau 5 h after addition of the labeled N-acetyl-mannosamine and remained constant for at least 70 h. The incorporation into individual gangliosides was measured in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes between 72 and 144 h after seeding. During this period, the increase in ganglioside levels was greatest. The highest rates of incorporation were seen in GD1a followed by GM3, GM1, GD3 and the polysialylated compounds. The following rates of synthesis (nmol per 60 h and mg of protein) were calculated: GD1a 0.68, GM3 0.59, GM1 0.36, GD3 0.13 and GT1 0.02. These values are compared with the net increase of the gangliosides as measured by the resorcinol reaction.