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Three types of glycosphingolipid (GSL) component profiles have been established for human intracranial gliomas. GSL-type I shows only Glac- and lacto-series-sialoglycolipids. Type II consist of Glac- and Gtri-gangliosides, whereas only GSL-type III contains sulphatide and, as a major neutral glycolipid, galactocerebroside, besides gangliosides of the Glac-, Gtri-, and Gtet-families. Whole gliomas of malignancy grading I/II, III and IV, display GSL-Types III, II, and I, respectively. Thus, the GSL component distribution of the samples taken after surgery from three individual gliomas and two biopsies correlate closely with the general diagnosis of these tumours. Arthrobacter ureafaciens sialidase was used for the characterization of gangliosides. GSL-type analysis of multiple regional samples, taken from necropsy and biopsy, were determined by microanalysis of microscopic cryostat section, and shown to be in good agreement with their histology. The results validate the relevance of tumour ganglioside analysis for the characterization and diagnosis of gliomas.

Nosocomial infections, which are not uncommon in neurosurgical intensive care medicine, may possibly be favoured by an impairment of immunological competence of the patient. In a prospective observational trial, we investigated several parameters of cellular and humoral immunity in 32 patients before and after resection of an intracranial tumour. We quantified the effects of operative procedure, dexamethasone pretreatment, and tumour type. Dexamethasone alone causes an increase of neutrophilic granulocyte count and monocytes, whereas IgG and eosinophilic granulocytes decrease as well as lymphocytes. CD4+ T lymphocytes (T helper cells) and CD8+ T lymphocytes (T cytotoxic/suppressor cells) were more severely affected than B lymphocytes. Dexamethasone and operation in combination act synergistically on T lymphocytes and IgG, while no synergism is obvious in other clinical test parameters. The skin sensitivity reaction was depressed accordingly. With intracerebral tumours (gliomas WHO grades II to IV), levels of T helper cells and eosinophilic granulocytes were lower, and levels of IgM and neutrophilic granulocytes were higher than with benign extracerebral neoplasms. Postoperative nosocomial infections of the lower respiratory tract occurred almost exclusively in patients subject to severe depression of T helper cells.

Human meninges and 29 meningiomas were analyzed as to their glycosphingolipid composition. In the neutral fraction GSL, a mostly even distribution of mono-, di-, tri-and tetrahexoside was demonstrated. In the group of the gangliosides, Glac1 in one broad band in chromatograms occurred in almost all meningiomas; Glac2 was present in 84% of tumours. Members of the Gtn-family were only found in a small minority of tumours while various Gtet-gangliosides were detectable in nearly half of them. No constant pattern or patterns emerged and no correlation to either morphological subtype or malignancy grade could be established. Immunohistochemistry revealed focal presence of Glac2 in a pattern similar to that of vimentin expression. Semiquantitative evaluation showed good correlation between both parameters.