Involvement of the acyl chain of ceramide in carbohydrate recognition by an anti-glycolipid monoclonal antibody: the case of an anti-melanoma antibody, M2590, to GM3-ganglioside.

The effect of the chain length of the fatty acid residue of the ceramide moiety of ganglioside GM3 on the binding ability of monoclonal antibody M2590, which is specific for the carbohydrate structure of GM3-ganglioside, was examined by means of a direct binding assay on thin layer chromatography plates (TLC immunostaining) and a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Derivatives of GM3 with a long fatty acid chain reacted with the M2590 antibody, but those with a short fatty acid chain showed no reaction in either assay system. These results suggested that the acyl fatty acid moiety of the ganglioside played an important role in the formation or maintenance of the antigenic structure of the carbohydrate moiety of the ganglioside.