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Down‐Regulation of the Expression of O ‐Acetyl‐GD3 by the O ‐Acetylesterase cDNA in Hamster Melanoma Cells
Author(s) -
Birklé Stéphane,
Ren Shulin,
Slominski Andrzej,
Zeng Guichao,
Gao Luoyi,
Yu Robert K.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1046/j.1471-4159.1999.0720954.x
Subject(s) - transfection , hamster , melanoma , biology , ganglioside , microbiology and biotechnology , cell culture , tyrosinase , cellular differentiation , chinese hamster ovary cell , chemistry , gene , biochemistry , enzyme , cancer research , genetics
: The composition of the gangliosides of hamster melanomacells is closely related to their cellular growth and degree ofdifferentiation, with slow‐growing, highly differentiated melanotic melanomaMI cells expressing GM3 and fast‐growing, undifferentiated amelanotic Abmelanoma cells having a preponderance of GD3 and O ‐acetyl‐GD3. Tostudy the putative function of O ‐acetyl‐GD3, we established stablytransfected AbC‐1 amelanotic hamster melanoma cells with O ‐acetylesterase gene from influenza C virus to hydrolyze the O ‐acetyl group from O ‐acetyl‐GD3. The content of O ‐acetyl‐GD3 in the transfected cells expressing O ‐acetylesterase gene was reduced by >90%. These O ‐acetyl‐GD3‐depleted cells differed from the parental ones in theircellular morphology, growth behavior, and melanogenesis activity. The absenceof O ‐acetyl‐GD3 in the transfected cells was accompanied by increasedthick dendrite formation with an enlarged cell body, which is in strikingcontrast to the control cells, which were rounded and flattened, with fewprocesses. Their growth was significantly slower than that of the controlcells. They also demonstrated significantly lower tyrosinase activity andmelanogenic potential. We suggest that the enhanced expression ofmelanoma‐associated O ‐acetyl‐GD3 ganglioside may stimulate cellular growth and suppress certain differentiated phenotypes such as dendrite formation but not melanogenesis.