ABSTRACT
The composition of biologically active sphingolipids in hepatoma 22, breast adenocarcinoma, Lewis lung carcinoma, large intestine adenocarcinoma, cervical carcinoma, and melanomas M3 and B16 was compared to elucidate the similarity and differences in sphingolipids of subcutaneously transplantable murine tumors. The sphingolipid composition of the tumors was found to widely vary. The sphingomyelin, ceramide, glucosyl- and lactosylceramide, and ganglioside GD3 contents in hepatoma 22 are higher than those in normal tissue. No common regularities for tumors of different origin were observed in the ratios of bioeffectors inhibiting proliferation and stimulating apoptosis and bioeffectors stimulating cell growth and survival. However, the Cer/(GlcCer + LacCer) ratios were very low and practically equal in two melanoma strains, which probably indicates the degree of tumor malignancy. The results suggest that the content and composition of sphingolipids in tumors depend on their histogenesis.
