Pancreatic islet A2B5- and 3G5-reactive gangliosides are markers of differentiation in rat insulinoma cells.

Rat insulinoma (RIN) cells, in comparison with adult islet cells, are relatively undifferentiated. They secrete low amounts of islet hormones, are unresponsive to glucose, and display pluripotency. A minority of RIN cells react with monoclonal antibodies A2B5 and 3G5 which recognize complex gangliosides on normal islet cells. In order to determine whether the expression of A2B5- or 3G5-reactive gangliosides is modulated during differentiation RIN cells were cultured with various concentrations of sodium butyrate (NaB), a known inducer of cellular differentiation. Expression of A2B5- and 3G5-reactive gangliosides was determined by indirect immunofluorescence and flow cytofluorimetry. NaB exposure resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in cell proliferation over 5 days of 1.5-, 2.9-, and 17.5-fold at 0.5, 1.0 and 3.0 mM, respectively, and a distinct change in cellular morphology. Cells exposed to NaB displayed prominent neurite-like projections. At 3 mM NaB, insulin secretion increased 7.9-fold and the percentage of cells expressing A2B5- and 3G5-reactive gangliosides increased by up to 4.4- and 5.5-fold, respectively. The expression of A2B5- or 3G5-reactive gangliosides per cell also increased, by 2.4- and 1.3-fold, respectively, at 3 mM NaB. These findings demonstrate that the expression of cell surface A2B5- and 3G5-reactive gangliosides is not static but increases with cell differentiation. NaB-treated RIN cells may serve as a model to study the role of gangliosides in the function and lineage relationships of islet cells.