Application Notes:
As this product is derived from a natural source, there may be variations in the sphingoid backbone.
Gangliosides1
are acidic glycosphingolipids that form lipid rafts in the outer leaflet of the cell plasma membrane, especially
in neuronal cells in the central nervous system. They participate in cellular proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, signal
transduction, cell-to-cell interactions, tumorigenesis, and metastasis.2
The accumulation of gangliosides has been linked to
several diseases including Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff disease. An autoimmune response against gangliosides can lead to
Guillain-Barre syndrome. GD1a is one of the major brain gangliosides. It is a coreceptor of Toll-like receptor 2 signaling3
and
it inhibits concanavalin A-induced 45Ca2
+
uptake although it is not cytotoxic nor does it significantly alter the rate of Ca2
+
efflux. Along with other gangliosides GD1a enhances tumor cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. It is a receptor for
cholera toxin and contributes to the sodium channel functional variability within and between neuronal cells. GD1a causes a
significant increase in the responsiveness of epidermal growth factor receptors, a condition that is often associated with the
formation of tumors.4
References:
1. L. Svennerholm, et al. (eds.), Structure and Function of Gangliosides, New York, Plenum, 1980
2. S. Birkle, G. Zeng, L. Gao, R. K. Yu, and J. Aubry, Role of tumor-associated gangliosides in cancer progression. Biochimie, 85, 455–463, 2003
3. Shuang Liang et al, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, March, Vol. 282 pp. 7532-7542, 2007
4. Yihui Liu, Ruixiang Li and Stephan Ladisch, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, August, Vol. 279 pp. 36481-36489, 2004