Patterns of ganglioside expression in B cell neoplasms.

Twenty seven B cell neoplasms were examined by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) and immune thin layer chromatography (ITLC) to determine ganglioside expression. Patterns of expression in the cells were compared with conventional morphology, genotype, and glycoprotein immunophenotype. Patterns of ganglioside expression were found for each of the tumor types analyzed (5 acute lymphoblastic lymphomas (ALL), 5 Burkitt's Lymphomas (BL), 4 chronic lymphocytic leukemias (CLL), 3 diffuse poorly differentiated lymphomas (DPDL), 7 diffuse histiocytic lymphomas (DHL), and 3 multiple myelomas (MM). GM3 was the predominant ganglioside found in all B cell neoplasms except multiple myeloma where GM2 was equivalent to GM3. GM1 was detected by ITLC in all B cell tumors, but significant amounts were found by HPTLC only in ALL, CLL, and DHL. Small amounts of GD3 and GD2 were found in several B cell neoplasms. Significant amounts of other gangliosides were not found. The expression of GM2 on the MM cell lin...