GQ1b, a bioactive ganglioside that exhibits novel nerve growth factor (NGF)-like activities in the two neuroblastoma cell lines.

To clarify the role of gangliosides in the morphological and biochemical differentiation of neuronal cell cultures, the model cell culture system represented by two neuroblastoma cell lines, GOTO and NB-1, which were established from adrenal gland and metastatic neck lymph node, respectively, was examined. We found that the total ganglioside fraction from human brain had two remarkable effects on these cell lines, which are similar to those of nerve growth factor (NGF): (a) an increase in the cell number, and (b) an increase in the neurite number and the total length of neurites. In these cases, the genuine effector in total gangliosides could not be ascribed to a possibly contaminating NGF-like protein, but rather to a particular molecular species of the gangliosides, GQ1b, which could completely replace the effector function not only qualitatively but also quantitatively. Our results provide direct evidence for the participation of gangliosides in such functions.