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PubMed1996

Mice with disrupted GM2/GD2 synthase gene lack complex gangliosides but exhibit only subtle defects in their nervous system.

Gangliosides, sialic acid-containing glycosphingolipids, are abundant in the vertebrate (mammalian) nervous system. Their composition is spatially and developmentally regulated, and gangliosides have been widely believed to lay essential roles in establishment of the nervous system, especially in neuritogenesis and synaptogenesis. However, this has never been tested directly. Here we report the generation of mice with a disrupted beta 1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (GM2/GD2 synthase; EC 2.4.1.92) gene. The mice lacked all complex gangliosides. Nevertheless, they did not show any major histological defects in their nervous systems or in gross behavior. Just a slight reduction in the neural conduction velocity from the tibial nerve to the somatosensory cortex, but not to the lumbar spine, was detected. These findings suggest that complex gangliosides are required in neuronal functions but not in the morphogenesis and organogenesis of the brain. The higher levels of GM3 and GD3 expressed in the brains of these mutant mice may be able to compensate for the lack of complex gangliosides.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Properties of recombinant human cytosolic sialidase HsNEU2. The enzyme hydrolyzes monomerically dispersed GM1 ganglioside molecules.

Recombinant human cytosolic sialidase (HsNEU2), expressed in Escherichia coli, was purified to homogeneity, and its substrate specificity was studied. HsNEU2 hydrolyzed 4-methylumbelliferyl alpha-NeuAc, alpha 2-->3 sialyllactose, glycoproteins (fetuin, alpha-acid glycoprotein, transferrin, and bovine submaxillary gland mucin), micellar gangliosides GD1a, GD1b, GT1b, and alpha 2-->3 paragloboside, and vesicular GM3. alpha 2-->6 sialyllactose, colominic acid, GM1 oligosaccharide, whereas micellar GM2 and GM1 were resistant. The optimal pH was 5.6, kinetics Michaelis-Menten type, V(max) varying from 250 IU/mg protein (GD1a) to 0.7 IU/mg protein (alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein), and K(m) in the millimolar range. HsNEU2 was activated by detergents (Triton X-100) only with gangliosidic substrates; the change of GM3 from vesicular to mixed micellar aggregation led to a 8.5-fold V(max) increase. HsNEU2 acted on gangliosides (GD1a, GM1, and GM2) at nanomolar concentrations. With these dispersions (studied in detailed on GM1), where monomers are bound to the tube wall or dilutedly associated (1:2000, mol/mol) to Triton X-100 micelles, the V(max) values were 25 and 72 microIU/mg protein, and K(m) was 10 and 15 x 10(-9) m, respectively. Remarkably, GM1 and GM2 were recognized only as monomers. HsNEU2 worked at pH 7.0 with an efficiency (compared with that at pH 5.6) ranging from 4% (on GD1a) to 64% (on alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein), from 7% (on GD1a) to 45% (on GM3) in the presence of Triton X-100, and from 30 to 40% on GM1 monomeric dispersion. These results show that HsNEU2 differentially recognizes the type of sialosyl linkage, the aglycone part of the substrate, and the supramolecular organization (monomer/micelle/vesicle) of gangliosides. The last ability might be relevant in sialidase interactions with gangliosides under physiological conditions.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Ganglioside structure dictates signal transduction by cholera toxin and association with caveolae-like membrane domains in polarized epithelia.

In polarized cells, signal transduction by cholera toxin (CT) requires apical endocytosis and retrograde transport into Golgi cisternae and perhaps ER (Lencer, W.I., C. Constable, S. Moe, M. Jobling, H.M. Webb, S. Ruston, J.L. Madara, T. Hirst, and R. Holmes. 1995. J. Cell Biol. 131:951-962). In this study, we tested whether CT's apical membrane receptor ganglioside GM1 acts specifically in toxin action. To do so, we used CT and the related Escherichia coli heat-labile type II enterotoxin LTIIb. CT and LTIIb distinguish between gangliosides GM1 and GD1a at the cell surface by virtue of their dissimilar receptor-binding B subunits. The enzymatically active A subunits, however, are homologous. While both toxins bound specifically to human intestinal T84 cells (Kd approximately 5 nM), only CT elicited a cAMP-dependent Cl- secretory response. LTIIb, however, was more potent than CT in eliciting a cAMP-dependent response from mouse Y1 adrenal cells (toxic dose 10 vs. 300 pg/well). In T84 cells, CT fractionated with caveolae-like detergent-insoluble membranes, but LTIIb did not. To investigate further the relationship between the specificity of ganglioside binding and partitioning into detergent-insoluble membranes and signal transduction, CT and LTIIb chimeric toxins were prepared. Analysis of these chimeric toxins confirmed that toxin-induced signal transduction depended critically on the specificity of ganglioside structure. The mechanism(s) by which ganglioside GM1 functions in signal transduction likely depends on coupling CT with caveolae or caveolae-related membrane domains.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1997

Mechanisms of action of anti-GM1 and anti-GQ1b ganglioside antibodies in Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Anti-GM1 and anti-GQ1b ganglioside antibodies are found in association with acute and chronic peripheral neuropathies, including Guillain-Barré syndrome. They are believed to arise as a result of molecular mimicry with immunogenic microbial polysaccharides. Although anti-ganglioside antibodies are suspected to play a causal role in neuropathy pathogenesis, the details of this have yet to be proven. The approach in this laboratory to solving this issue has been to generate anti-GM1 and anti-GQ1b monoclonal antibodies from peripheral blood lymphocytes of affected patients and to study their immunolocalization in peripheral nerve and their electrophysiologic effects in animal models in which peripheral nerve sites are exposed to anti-ganglioside antibodies. These data show that anti-ganglioside antibody-reactive epitopes are widely distributed in peripheral nerve and can cause electrophysiologic abnormalities in a variety of model systems; thus, these data support the view that anti-ganglioside antibody-reactive epitopes may directly contribute to neuropathy pathogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Anti-ganglioside antibodies can bind peripheral nerve nodes of Ranvier and activate the complement cascade without inducing acute conduction block in vitro.

The neurophysiological effects of nine neuropathy-associated human anti-ganglioside antisera, three monoclonal antibodies to ganglioside GM1 (GM1) and of the cholera toxin B subunit (a GM1 ligand) were studied on mouse sciatic nerve in vitro. GM1 antisera and monoclonal antibodies from patients with chronic motor neuropathies and Guillain-Barre syndrome, and GQ1b/ disialosyl antisera and monoclonal antibodies from patients with chronic ataxic neuropathies and Miller Fisher syndrome were studied. In vitro recording, for up to 6 h, of compound nerve action potentials, latencies, rise times and stimulus thresholds from isolated desheathed sciatic nerve was performed in the presence of antiganglioside antibodies and fresh human serum as an additional source of complement. No changes were observed over this time course, with 4-6 h values for all electrophysiological parameters being within 15% of the starting values for both normal and antibody containing sera and for the cholera toxin B subunit. Parallel experiments on identically prepared desheathed nerves performed with 0.5 nM saxitoxin led to complete conduction block within 10 min of application. Under identical conditions to those used for electrophysiological recordings, quantitative immunohistological evaluation revealed a significant increase in IgM (immunoglobulin M) deposition at nodes of Ranvier from 5.3+/-3.1% to 28.7+/-8.4% (mean+/-SEM) of desheathed nerves exposed to three normal and three antibody containing sera, respectively (P < 0.03). Complement activation was seen at 100% of normal and 79% of disease-associated IgM positive nodes of Ranvier. These data indicate that anti-ganglioside antibodies can diffuse into a desheathed nerve, bind to nodes of Ranvier and fix complement in vitro without resulting in any overt physiological deterioration of the nerve over 4-6 h. This suggests that the node of Ranvier is relatively resistant to acute antiganglioside antibody mediated injury over this time scale and that anti-ganglioside antibodies and the cholera toxin B subunit are unlikely to have major direct pharmacological effects on nodal function, at least in comparison with the effect of saxitoxin. This in vitro sciatic nerve model appears of limited use for analysing electrophysiologically the effects of anti-ganglioside antibodies on nerve function, possibly because its short-term viability and isolation from circulating systemic factors do not permit the evolution of an inflammatory lesion of sufficient magnitude to induce overt electrophysiological abnormalities. In vivo models may be more suitable for identifying the effects of these antibodies on nerve conduction.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Localization of major gangliosides in the PNS: implications for immune neuropathies.

Antibodies targeting major gangliosides that are broadly distributed in the nervous system are sometimes associated with clinical symptoms that imply selective nerve damage. For example, anti-GD1a antibodies are associated with acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN), a form of Guillain-Barré syndrome that selectively affects motor nerves, despite reports that GD1a is present in human axons and myelin and is not expressed differentially in motor versus sensory roots. We used a series of high-affinity monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the major nervous system gangliosides GM1, GD1a, GD1b and GT1b to test whether any of them bind motor or sensory fibres differentially in rodent and human peripheral nerves. The following observations were made. (i) Some of the anti-GD1a antibodies preferentially stained motor fibres, supporting the association of human anti-GD1a antibodies with predominant motor neuropathies such as AMAN. (ii) A GD1b antibody preferentially stained the large dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurones, in keeping with the proposed role of human anti-GD1b antibodies in sensory ataxic neuropathies. (iii) Two mAbs with broad structural cross-reactivity bound to both gangliosides and peripheral nerve proteins. (iv) Myelin was poorly stained; all clones stained axons nearly exclusively. Our findings suggest that anti-ganglioside antibody fine specificity as well as differences in ganglioside accessibility in axons and myelin influence the selectivity of injury to different fibre systems and cell types in human autoimmune neuropathies.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Gangliosides are receptors for murine polyoma virus and SV40.

Polyoma virus (Py) and simian virus 40 (SV40) travel from the plasma membrane to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) from where they enter the cytosol and then the nucleus to initiate infection. Here we demonstrate that specific gangliosides can serve as plasma membrane receptors for these viruses, GD1a and GT1b for Py and GM1 for SV40. Binding and flotation assays were used to show that addition of these gangliosides to phospholipid vesicles allowed specific binding of the respective viruses. The crystal structure of polyoma VP1 with a sialic acid-containing oligosaccharide was used to derive a model of how the two terminal sugars (sialic acid-alpha2,3-galactose) in one branch of GD1a and GT1b are recognized by the virus. A rat cell line deficient in ganglioside synthesis is poorly infectible by polyoma and SV40, but addition of the appropriate gangliosides greatly facilitates virus uptake, transport to the ER and infection. Lipid binding sites for polyoma are shown to be present in rough ER membranes, suggesting that the virus travel with the ganglioside(s) from the plasma membranes to the ER.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Different sensitivities of the murine melanomas BL-6 and BL-6-beta m to local injections of interleukin-2 (IL-2). Analysis of gangliosides after the treatment.

The murine melanoma cell line BL-6-beta m, which is a stable cell line transfected with a gene coding a unique actin subspecies called beta m to the BL-6 cell line, has low metastatic potentials as compared with those of the parent cell line. BL-6-beta m melanomas were found to be sensitive to in vivo local injection of IL-2, while BL-6 melanomas showed almost no response. Ganglioside analysis of BL-6 and BL-6-beta melanomas revealed that the main ganglioside of both melanomas was GM3, which suggested that different sensitivities between BL-6 and BL-6-beta m melanomas to the injection of IL-2 did not relate to the different compositions of main gangliosides. However, minor components of the gangliosides such as GM2 and GM1 emerged only in BL-6-beta m melanomas after treatment with IL-2. Local injection of IL-2 caused considerable infiltration of anti-asialo GM1-positive cells into the nests as well as the interstitials of BL-6-beta m melanomas. In contrast, in the BL-6 melanomas treated with IL-2, infiltration of the anti-asialo GM1-positive cells was hardly seen, although anti-Thy1,2 and anti-macrophage-positive cells were found to more or less the same extent as observed in BL-6-beta m melanomas. These results suggest that the murine metastatic variant melanoma cell lines BL-6 and BL-6-beta m have different properties in terms of sensitivity to in vivo IL-2 treatment, and a slight enhancement of the ganglioside components GM2 and GM1 expression only in BL-6-beta m after IL-2 treatment may play a role in the IL-2-mediated attraction of immune cells or may explain the different sensitivities of the two lines to treatment with IL-2.

Actins↗
PubMed1989

Gangliosides influence experimental influenza virus infection in mice.

Influenza virus infection in mice may be either stimulated or partially prevented by certain gangliosides, depending on the experimental conditions employed. When injected prior to virus infection gangliosides increased the mortality rate, whereas preincubation with the virus before infection had a protecting effect. Hybrid mice resistant to influenza virus became highly susceptible to infection after injection of a specific ganglioside whereas the corresponding antiganglioside antiserum protected virus-susceptible mice against infection by the virus. These results are discussed in the light of earlier findings that various gangliosides enhance non-specific binding of influenza virus, whereas gangliosides of the GT1b and GD1b type are able to act as specific virus receptors and to promote virus penetration.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Specificities of limulin and wheat-germ agglutinin towards some derivatives of GM3 gangliosides.

Lipid vesicles containing derivatives of GM3 ganglioside (II3-N-acetylneuraminosyllactosyl ceramide) were used to study the specificities of two lectins (limulin and wheat germ agglutinin) towards N-acetyl neuraminic acid and N-glycoloylneuraminic acid and some of their natural and chemically modified derivatives. The extent of the lectin binding to the gangliosides was related to the aggregation process of the lipid vesicles which was monitored as an absorbance increase. Limulin binds specifically to lipid vesicles containing N-glycoloyl derivatives of GM3. The hydroxyl group at C-4 and the carboxyl group of neuraminic acid have to be free for the binding to limulin. The side chain of neuraminic acid is not involved in the binding site of limulin. Wheat germ agglutinin binds to GM3 ganglioside only when the hydrophilic tail of the neuraminic group is cut off (C7 analogues). The acetamido group but not the carboxyl group is involved in the binding to wheat germ agglutinin. The wheat-germ-agglutinin-induced aggregation of vesicles containing derivatives of GM3-ganglioside is dependent on the pH, on the ionic strength and on the presence of Ca2+ ions. The dependence on ionic strength and Ca2+ is a consequence of the electrostatic repulsion of the vesicles. The wheat-germ-agglutinin-induced aggregation process of vesicles containing any suitable GM3-ganglioside derivative was reversed by the addition of N-acetylglucosamine showing that the N-acetylneuraminic acid derivatives bind to the N-acetylglucosamine binding site.

Calcium↗
PubMed1982

Conformational changes in subunit A of cholera toxin following the binding of ganglioside to subunit B.

1. Cholera toxin has been labelled with the fluorescent probe 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofuran (Nbf-Cl) in both subunits, and the labelled subunits separated by gel-permeation. They retained their biological activities. 2. Addition of ganglioside GM1 (which binds to subunit B only) to either labelled subunit did not alter the fluorescence of the Nbf probe. 3. Whole toxin was reconstituted using labelled subunit A and unlabelled subunit B. Addition of ganglioside GM1 to the reconstituted toxin enhanced the fluorescence by about 90%, but did not change the wavelength. This enhancement reached a maximum when the ganglioside to toxin ratio was about 1 to 1. Ganglioside GD1b (which does not bind) did not affect the fluorescence. 4. These results suggest that the binding of ganglioside to subunit B alters the environment of the Nbf probe bound to subunit A, presumably by a conformational change.

4-Chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan↗
PubMed1997

Metabolic processing of gangliosides by human fibroblasts in culture--formation and recycling of separate pools of sphingosine.

Human cultured fibroblasts were fed with GM3 ganglioside species isotopically labeled at C3 of C18-sphingosine, or at C3 of C18-sphinganine, or at the sialic acid acetyl group, and with C18-sphingosine and C18-sphinganine, both labeled at C1. After a lipid pulse the cells were subjected until 7-day chase; measurements were then made of the radioactive products resulting from the administered long-chain base and ganglioside species catabolism and the salvage processes of catabolic fragments. From the data we drew the following conclusions. The GM3 species differing in the long-chain base structure were taken up by the cells and metabolized. About 80% of the total catabolic C18-sphingosine and C18-sphinganine were recycled for the biosynthesis of complex sphingolipids, the rest being degraded. Results obtained by administering ganglioside species of GM3 containing radioactive sphingosine or the free radioactive sphingosine to fibroblasts suggested the existence in the cells of two quite separate pools of sphingosine. One pool was the direct result of either the catabolism of radioactive GM3 high-density microdomains or the diffusion of exogenous sphingosine into the cell; this pool was mainly used for the biosynthesis of the GD3 species that contain palmitic and stearic acids. The other pool of sphingosine, the cell basal pool, came from the catabolism of radioactive sphingolipids in the recycling of sphingosine, and was used for the biosynthesis of the GD3 species that mainly contain very long fatty acid chains, the main fibroblast endogenous species of GD3. Administration of the ganglioside species of GM3 containing sphinganine or free sphinganine to fibroblasts yielded the GD3 species containing mainly very long-chain fatty acids and sphingosine. These results show the possible existence of a pool of ganglioside-derived sphingosine, quite separate from the cell basal pool of sphingosine, suggesting that sphingosine derived from sphingolipid catabolism is reduced to sphinganine before entering the sphingolipid biosynthetic pathway.

Autoradiography↗
PubMed1980

Preparation and properties of antibodies to GD3 and GM1 gangliosides.

Gangliosides GD3 and GM1 were coupled to proteins by their carboxyl groups and antisera were raised against the complexes. Anti-ganglioside antibodies were isolated by affinity chromatography on ganglioside-aminopropyl silica gel columns, and the specificity of the antibodies was determined by a quantitative microcomplement fixation assay. Antibodies to GD3 were highly specific and did not crossreact with GM3, lactosyl ceramide, or other glycolipids. Purified antibodies to GM1, in contrast, crossreacted with asialo-GM1, GD1b, and, to a lesser extent, GM2 and asialo-GM2. A derivative of GM1, containing a C-7 sialic acid residue produced by periodate oxidation, reacted with the ani-GM1 antibodies almost as readily as with GM1. The specificities of anti-GM1 antibodies elicited by the covalent ganglioside-protein complexes were similar to those produced by immunization with noncovalent complexes of GM1 and methylated bovine serum albumin. The ganglioside-protein complexes described here should be useful for preparing antibodies to polysialogangliosides that contain neuraminidase-sensitive linkages.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1995

Gangliosides in children with autism.

Concentrations of the four major brain gangliosides, GM1, GD1a, GD1b and GT1b, biochemical markers of neuronal membranes, were determined in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 20 children with autism and in 25 controls. In addition, the gangliosides were determined in children with different forms of non-progressive neurological disorders lacking clinical features of autism. GM1, GD1a, GD1b and GT1b were significantly increased in patients with autism compared with age-matched controls and children with non-progressive neurological disorders. The gangliosides have previously been shown to have a function in synaptic transmission and increased synaptic activity leads to added release of gangliosides. Our finding of increased CSF levels of gangliosides in autism suggests increased synaptic activity in this disorder.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Inhibition of enterotoxin from Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae by gangliosides from human milk.

Inhibitory activity of enterotoxin from Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae was associated with the ganglioside fraction of human milk. Both the milk fat and skim milk contained gangliosides that inhibited the toxins. The most purified milk fraction contained three glycolipid components, of which two migrated close to ganglioside GM1 on thin-layer chromatography plates. A component with a slightly different mobility from GM1 appeared to be associated with the inhibitory activity. Milk ganglioside fraction, derived from 2 ml of human milk, contained 1 to 4 micrograms of lipid-bound sialic acid and completely inhibited 0.1 micrograms of cholera toxin in rabbit intestinal loop experiments. It is suggested that human milk gangliosides, although present only in trace amounts, may be important in protecting infants against enterotoxin-induced diarrhea.

Enterotoxins↗
PubMed1992

Molecular genetic analysis of ganglioside GD1b-binding activity of Escherichia coli type IIa heat-labile enterotoxin by use of random and site-directed mutagenesis.

Mutagenesis of the B-subunit gene of Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin LT-IIa was performed in vitro with sodium bisulfite. Mutants were screened initially by radial passive immune hemolysis assays for loss of binding to erythrocytes. Mutant B polypeptides were characterized for immunoreactivity; for binding to gangliosides GD1b, GD1a, and GM1; for formation of holotoxin; and for biological activity. Mutant alleles that determined altered binding specificities were sequenced. Three such mutant alleles encoded Thr-to-Ile substitutions at residues 13, 14, and 34 in the mature B polypeptide of LT-IIa. Each mutant protein failed to bind to ganglioside GD1b, although the Ile-14 mutant retained the ability to bind to ganglioside GM1. Site-specific mutagenesis was used to construct mutants with various amino acid substitutions at residue 13, 14, or 34. Only those mutant proteins with Ser substituted for Thr at position 13, 14, or 34 retained the ability to bind to ganglioside GD1b, thereby suggesting a role for the hydroxyl group of Thr or Ser in ganglioside GD1b binding.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1977

Characterization of an activating factor required for hydrolysis of Gm2 ganglioside catalyzed by hexosaminidase A.

Separation of the hexosaminidase A (EC 3.2.1.52) and B isozymes of human liver by ion-exchange chromatography results in recovery of greater than 80% of the activity in crude extracts when synthetic substrates are used to monitor enzyme activity. Only 15% of hexosaminidase activity toward the N-acetylgalactosaminyl (N-acetylneuraminyl) galactosyl glucosylceramide (Gm2 ganglioside) substrate is recovered and all of this activity is associated with the hexosaminidase A Fraction. The low level of Gm2 ganglioside hydrolase activity in the hexosaminidase A fraction could be enhanced by coincubation with column fractions which contain hexosaminidase B. The activating factor, which has been partially purified by gel filtration, is a heat-stable protein with a molecular weight of 36 000 and is without enzyme activity toward hexosaminidase substrates. Highly purified hexosaminidase A or crude hexosaminidase A recovered after gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 has no Gm2 ganglioside hydrolase activity. The Gm2 ganglioside hydrolase activity of these hexosaminidase. A preparations can be completely restored by addition of activating factor. The activating factor does not affect the rate of hydrolysis of synthetic substrate or asialo Gm2 ganglioside catalyzed by hexosaminidase A.

Drug Stability↗
PubMed1980

Kinetics of rat liver GM2 ganglioside-beta-D-N-acetylhexosaminidase.

The kinetics of beta-D-N-acetylhexosaminidase against GM2 ganglioside were examined. We used a crude preparation of rat liver as the enzyme source because purification of beta-D-N-acetylhexosaminidase results in a decrease in specific activity against GM2 ganglioside. Kinetic plots were not linear but showed a break. At substrate concentrations less than 50 microM the Vmax was 6 pmol GM2 hydrolyzed per hour per micromole 4-MU-GlcNAc hydrolyzed per hour (pmol GM2/mumol 4-MU-GlcNAc) and the Km was 5 microM. At substrate concentrations greater than 50 microM, the Vmax was 7 pmol GM2/mumol 4-MU-GlcNAc and the Km was 14 microM. The critical micelle concentration of GM2 ganglioside was 20-25 microM as determined by spectral shifts of the dye pinacyanol chloride in association with GM2, and 10-15 microM from electrical conductivity measurements which also showed the end of the monomer-micelle transition to occur at 40-50 microM GM2. The increasing excess of micellar substrate at greater than 50 microM GM2 explains the discontinuity in the kinetic plots. Sodium taurocholate had a critical micelle concentration of 9-11 mM using pinacyanol chloride and 2.5-3 mM using electrical conductivity. When included in the assay mixture at a concentration of 10 mM, sodium taurocholate produced a linear kinetic plot. This is probably due to the formation of mixed micelles of detergent and GM2 ganglioside. The Vmax was 200 pmol GM2/MUmol 4-MU-GlcNAc and the Km was 93 microM. The data suggest that ganglioside hydrolysis occurs more readily when the substrate is incorporated into a membrane-like environment.

Animals↗