Membrane gangliosides and immuno-mediated cytolysis in drug sensitive and treatment-induced multidrug resistant human ovarian cancer cells

The pattern of cytoplasmic membrane gangliosides and two cellular features which have been reported to be related to the expression of different membrane gangliosides, namely adhesion to solid substrates and susceptibility to the lytic activity of immune effector cells, have been investigated in drug sensitive A2780 human ovarian cancer cells and in two treatment-induced multidrug resistant sublines (A2780-DX1 and A2780-DX3). The total membrane gangliosides content of A2780 sensitive cells was comparable to that of the two multidrug resistant (MDR) sublines, but the acquisition of the MDR phenotype was characterized by an increased expression of the polysialylated gangliosides (particularly…