Membrane glycolipid and phospholipid composition of lipopolysaccharide-responsive and -nonresponsive murine B lymphocytes.

Neutral glycolipids, gangliosides, and phospholipids present on membranes of unstimulated or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated B cells were analyzed in LPS-responsive C3H/HePAS and LPS-nonresponsive C3H/HeJ mice. In the set of neutral glycolipids, asialo GM1 reacted preferentially with galactose oxidase but was not detectable with monospecific antibodies during immunocytofluorescence analysis. Another, more polar, neutral glycolipid appeared exclusively after stimulation of responsive B cells. Among the membrane gangliosides 1 to 5 that were able to react with galactose oxidase on B cells, ganglioside 3 was not detected in the mutant strain, and its absence was counterbalanced by the presence of a larger amount of ganglioside 1. The biosynthesis of total membrane phospholipids and the balance between phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine were significantly different in the two mouse strains examined and were quantitatively and qualitatively modified during the mitogenic response to LPS.