Detection of medulloblastoma and astrocytoma-associated ganglioside GD3 in cerebrospinal fluid.

Shedding of gangliosides by tumor cells may enhance tumor development. We recently showed that cells of the human brain tumor, medulloblastoma, shed gangliosides in vitro and have therefore examined ganglioside shedding by pediatric brain tumors into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). GD3, a major ganglioside in medulloblastoma and astrocytoma, was the target for detection in the CSF by immunostaining using the monoclonal antibody R24 and enhanced chemiluminescence detection. Mean CSF GD3 levels in patients with medulloblastomas (n = 9) and astrocytomas (n = 10) were significantly higher than those of controls (mean +/- SD 44.7 +/- 8.4 versus 18.2 +/- 1.9 pmol/ml, n = 20, P < 0.0002). Mass spectrometric analysis showed that tumor-derived ganglioside GD3 contained heterogeneous ceramide structures and, interestingly, the ceramide subspecies with shorter fatty acyl chains were selectively shed. The elevated CSF GD3 concentrations in patients with medulloblastoma and astrocytoma support the concept that ganglioside shedding, which may have significant biological consequences, is characteristic of human brain tumors.