Ganglioside composition of growth cone-deficient nerve cell cultures.

The ganglioside concentration and composition in growth cone-deficient nerve cells, induced by inclusion of cytochalasin B (CB) are compared with those of 2-day-old control cells from primary cultures of embryonic rat cerebral cortex. Ganglioside GM1 and GD1a are the major gangliosides in the growth cone. Ganglioside GM1 may be one of the membrane components of growth cones that function in neural recognition during development.