Gangliosides and phospholipids in human thyroids responsive and unresponsive to thyrotropin

The patterns of gangliosides and phospholipids and their relation to TSH response were examined in twenty-six malignant thyroid tumors (4 follicular, 6 papillary, 5 medullary, 11 anaplastic carcinomas) and thirty-six hyperplastic goiters. Thirteen thyroid tissues adjacent to benign tumors with no evidence of macroscopic or microscopic abnormalities were used as normal tissue. In normal thyroids the major ganglioside was GD₃ (44%) and GM₃ was the second ganglioside (20%). In minor amounts GD_1a (8.6%), GD_1b (6.2%), GT_1b (5.7%) and GM₁ (5.6%) were present. In hyperplastic goiters and in follicular carcinomas the patterns of gangliosides were similar to that of normal tissue except for GM₃ which, in the last tissue, was higher (34%). In papillary carcinomas low levels of GM₃ (11%) and GT_1b (0.8%) with a high level of GD_1b (12.6%) were found. In anaplastic carcinomas GM₃ was very high (47%) whereas GD₃ was low (18%). In these tumors also a high percentage (14.0%) of GD_1a was found. In medullary carcinomas the lowest levels of GM₃ (4%) with the highest level of GD₃ (64%) were found. Although large differences of the gangliosides distribution were clearly encountered in the various pathological human thyroid, no correlation between lack of TSH response and some individual ganglioside could be made. No differences in the individual phospholipid in the various tissues studied were found.