Human hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with quantitative and qualitative changes in glycolipids.

Changes of glycolipids in the naturally occurring human hepatocellular carcinoma tissues were studied. Neutral glycolipids (two fractions) and gangliosides from human hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and their adjacent uninvolved liver tissues from ten patients were purified and analyzed by high-performance thin-layer chromatography. Human hepatocellular carcinoma was shown to be associated with the extensive changes of the thin-layer chromatography patterns of both neutral glycolipids and gangliosides. Changes in neutral glycolipids were: (a) increased dihexaosylceramide with the concomitant decrease of trihexosylceramide and globoside, (b) increased ratio of the lower band of globoside to the upper band, and (c) increased expression of at least two "upper-phase" neutral glycolipids. Changes in gangliosides were: (a) increased expression of gangliosides migrating slower than GM3 on thin-layer chromatography with relative decrease of GM3, and (b) expression of tumor-associated new gangliosides, i.e., "neogangliosides".