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.2 They participate in cellular proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, signal
transduction, cell-to-cell interactions, tumorigenesis, and metastasis. The accumulation of gangliosides has been linked to
several diseases including Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff disease. GD3 is predominantly expressed during neuronal development
and its expression becomes very limited in adult tissues. GD3 expression is unusually high in basal cell carcinomas and
malignant melanomas and is thought to be a human melanoma-specific antigen. Although GD3 is not immunogenic it has
been investigated as a tool for immunotargeting human melanoma cells.3 Over expression of GD3 has led to apoptosis by
recruiting mitochondria to apoptotic pathways and suppressing NF-κB activation and subsequent κB-dependent gene
induction.4 Increased levels of GD3 have also been found to be associated with proliferative diseases, such as atherosclerosis.
References:
1. L. Svennerholm, et al. (eds.), Structure and Function of Gangliosides, New York, Plenum, 1980
2. T. Kolter, R. Proia, K. Sandhoff, J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 277:29 pp. 25859-25862, 2002
3. H. Jennings et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry, Vol. 279:24 pp. 25390, 2004
4. J. Fernández-Checa et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry, Vol. 277:51 pp. 49870, 2002