[Human ovarian ceramides and gangliosides in aging].

The age dependence of the ceramide and ganglioside content in human ovaries has been studied. It has been found that the ganglioside content does not change upon ageing, while the ceramide content alters with age, showing initial increase around the age of 45-47 years but then drops drastically. The composition of gangliosides undergoes drastic changes in the course of time, GM3 and GD3 being the major gangliosides in human ovaries. The amount of GD3 increases with age with a subsequent reduction of the Cer/GD3 molar ratio. It is suggested that the reduction of the Cer/GD3 molar ratio is a "risk factor" in tumour development upon ageing.