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Gangliosides Are Important for the Preservation of the Structure and Organization of RBL-2H3 Mast Cells

Adriana Maria Mariano Silveira e Souza, Edvaldo S. Trindade, Maria Célia Jamur and Constance Oliver

Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and Pathogenic Bioagents, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil (AMMSS,MCJ,CO), and Department of Cell Biology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil (EST)

Correspondence to: Constance Oliver, PhD, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and Pathogenic Bioagents, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil, Cep: 14049-900. E-mail: coliver{at}fmrp.usp.br

Gangliosides are known to be important in many biological processes. However, details concerning the exact function of these glycosphingolipids in cell physiology are poorly understood. In this study, the role of gangliosides present on the surface of rodent mast cells in maintaining cell structure was examined using RBL-2H3 mast cells and two mutant cell lines (E5 and D1) deficient in the gangliosides, GM₁ and the -galactosyl derivatives of the ganglioside GD_1b. The two deficient cell lines were morphologically different from each other as well as from the parental RBL-2H3 cells. Actin filaments in RBL-2H3 and E5 cells were under the plasma membrane following the spindle shape of the cells, whereas in D1 cells, they were concentrated in large membrane ruffles. Microtubules in RBL-2H3 and E5 cells radiated from the centrosome and were organized into long, straight bundles. The bundles in D1 cells were thicker and organized circumferentially under the plasma membrane. The endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi complex, and the secretory granule matrix were also altered in the mutant cell lines. These results suggest that the mast cell–specific -galactosyl derivatives of ganglioside GD_1b and GM₁ are important in maintaining normal cell morphology. (J Histochem Cytochem 58:83–93, 2010)

Key Words: mast cells • cytoskeleton • endoplasmic reticulum • Golgi complex • secretory granules • gangliosides

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