The
gangliosides in the livers of various inbred strains of rats and
hepatoma of LEC rats were purified and analyzed by thin-layer chromatography. The patterns of
ganglioside distribution in these rat livers were classified into three phenotypes depending on the strain, that is, a-type (ACI, LEA, LEW, BUF), b-type (WKAH, SHR/SP), and LEC type, which are characterized by dominance of a- or b-series of
gangliosides, or a variation of a-type, respectively. A sex difference was also recognized in the molar ratio of GM3 which was much higher in males (60-75%) than in females (33-56%) except in LEC rats. In addition, the content of a-series
gangliosides was lower and the content of b-series
gangliosides was higher in a-type male rats than in a-type female rats. The opposite was true in b-type rats. LEC rats were an exception, characterized by no sex difference and a quite low content of b-series
gangliosides. The LEC rat is a mutant strain that spontaneously develops
fulminant hepatitis around 14 to 20 weeks of age and
hepatoma at 1 to 1.5 years old. The
gangliosides of the
hepatoma were characterized by the appearance of the newly synthesized
gangliosides, fucosyl-GM1 and alpha-galactosyl alpha-
fucosyl GM1 (BGM1). In particular, BGM1
ganglioside accumulated in the
hepatoma of female rats.