Cells virus-transformed, glycosphingolipid

It becomes increasingly evident, that malignant transformation of cells is accompanied by an impaired ability to synthesize more complex oligosaccharide structures, and the level of glycosphingolipids with smaller and incomplete carbohydrate chains may thus be increased. This explains, for example, the preponderance of lactosyl ceramide in certain carcinomatous tissues. Cultured hamster kidney fibroplasts transformed into malignant cells by infection with polyoma virus had low levels of ganglioside Gi c 1, decreased to about 20% of that in normal cells, and increased concentrations of lactosyl ceramide (Hakomori and Murakami, 1968 Hakomori et al.,... 

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