Changes in sphingosine and fatty acid components of the gangliosides in developing rat and human brain.

Rat brain increases in weight after birth in three stages: (I) rapidly for the first 2 weeks, (II) at a lower rate from 2 to 5 weeks, and (III) at a still lower rate from 5 weeks to 5 months. During the succeeding period, designated IV, it maintains constant weight up to 1 year of age. Brain ganglioside content increased linearly during I and II, more slowly during III, and diminished during IV. The appearance of measurable amounts of brain sphingomyelin and cerebroside succeeded that of ganglioside. Ceramide with C18-sphingosine and C18 fatty acid was found in a large proportion of all three sphingolipids upon their first appearance in measurable quantity. C18 fatty acid in cerebroside rapidly declined to a negligible level, while in gangliosides and sphingomyelin it declined slowly but remained the major fatty acid component. Cerebrosides and sphingomyelin contained C18-sphingosine almost exclusively at all stages of rat brain growth. Gangliosides contained C18-sphingosine almost exclusively at birth, but subsequently accumulated C20-sphingosine until they had nearly equal quantities of each base type. Changes in human brain gangliosides resemble those in rat. In Tay-Sachs disease, gangliosides have C18-sphingosine predominantly, and a high content of C18 fatty acid.