Gangliosides, phospholipids, protein and ribonucleic acid in subfractions of cerebral microsomal material

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
In differential centrifuging of cerebral microsomal fractions, gangliosides required lesser centrifugal forces for depositing a given proportion of material than did ribonucleic acid; protein and phospholipids were intermediate in their properties. On density-gradient centrifuging, ribonucleic acid was associated with denser material than the greater part of the gangliosides and phospholipids. On density-gradient electrophoresis, a zone of particles enriched in gangliosides moved more rapidly towards the anode than a zone enriched in ribonucleic acid; phospholipid and protein were associated equally with the two zones. Sodium deoxycholate and Lubrol caused greatest solubilization of gangliosides from microsomal material; sodium hydrogen carbonate (pH 8.1) solubilized most ribonucleic acid. These and other properties of the fractions suggest that gangliosides may be a characteristic component of the membrane structures observed by Hanzon & Toschi (1959, 1960) in cerebral microsomal fractions; these are likely to contain also proteins and phospholipids.