Gangliosides and disease: a review

Neurochemical, morphological, and neurophysiological abnormalities in retinas of Sandhoff and GM1 gangliosidosis mice

Retinal abnormalities are well documented in patients with ganglioside storage diseases. The total content and distribution of retinal glycosphingolipids was studied for the first time in control mice and in Sandhoff disease (SD) and GM1 gangliosidosis mice. Light and electron microscopy of the SD and the GM1 retinas revealed storage in ganglion cells. Similar to previous findings in rat retina, GD3 was the major ganglioside in mouse retina, while GM2 and GM1 were minor species. Total ganglioside content was 44% and 40% higher in the SD and the GM1 retinas, respectively, than in the control retinas. Furthermore, GM2 and GM1 content were 11-fold and 51-fold higher in the SD and the GM1 retinas than in the control retinas, respectively. High concentrations of asialo-GM2 and asialo-GM1 were found in the SD and the GM1 retinas, respectively, but were undetectable in the control retinas. The GSL abnormalities in the SD and the GM1 retinas reflect significant reductions in beta-hexosaminidase and beta-galactosidase enzyme activities, respectively. Although electroretinograms appeared normal in the SD and the GM1 mice, visual evoked potentials were subnormal in both mutants, indicating visual impairments. Our findings present a model system for assessing retinal pathobiology and therapies for the gangliosidoses.

GM2 expression in renal cell carcinoma: potential role in tumor-induced T-cell dysfunction

Multiple mechanisms have been proposed to account for immune escape by tumors. Although gangliosides have long been known to suppress T-cell immunity, few studies have examined the effect of human tumor-derived gangliosides on immune responses. Here, we show that gangliosides isolated from renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell lines and clear cell tumor tissue can induce apoptosis in peripheral blood T cells. The RCC tissue-derived gangliosides also suppressed IFN-gamma and, in many cases, interleukin-4 production by CD4+ T cells at concentrations (1 ng/mL-100 pg/mL) well below those that induce any detectable T-cell death (4-20 microg/mL). Additional findings show that GM2 expressed by RCC plays a significant role in promoting T-cell dysfunction. This is supported by the demonstration that all RCC cell lines examined (n = 5) expressed GM2 as did the majority of tumors (15 of 18) derived from patients with clear cell RCC. Furthermore, an antibody specific for GM2 (DMF10.167.4) partially blocked (50-60%) T-cell apoptosis induced by coculturing lymphocytes with RCC cell lines or with RCC tissue-derived gangliosides. DMF10.167.4 also partially blocked the suppression of IFN-gamma production induced by RCC tissue-derived gangliosides, suggesting that GM2 plays a role in down-regulating cytokine production by CD4+ T cells.

Serum ganglioside patterns in multiple sclerosis

The relative distribution of gangliosides was determined in the serum of 37 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and of 30 healthy subjects. There was a significant increase of GM1 and GD1a, and a decrease of GM3 proportion in the serum of relapsing-remitting MS patients (RRMS) during their first MS attack. The RRMS patients in relapse with a long duration of the disease had a significant decrease of GM1 and an increase of GD1a portion in the serum. An increase of GD1a, one of the major brain neuron ganglioside fraction, suggested the neuron injury in the early and with a long duration RRMS. The finding of an increase of GM1, the main human myelin ganglioside, during the first MS attack in RRMS patients confirms previous evidence for the possible involvement of gangliosides in the early pathological course of demyelination in MS.

Beneficial effects of GM1 ganglioside on photochemically-induced microvascular injury in cerebral cortex and hypophysis in rat

Gangliosides, the glycophospholipids which are abundantly present in the central nervous system, have been shown to stimulate neuronal regeneration and counteract the deleterious effects of ischemia on cerebral neurons. The further elucidate the mechanism of action of gangliosides in cerebral ischemia, we investigated the influence of GM1 ganglioside in the model of photochemically-induced microvascular injury in rat brain. The animals were injected with rose Bengal and illuminated through cranium with halogen lamp. This treatment resulted in the development of microthrombi and alterations in endothelial cells in the microvessels. Administration of 20 mg/kg GM1 ganglioside, 1 h before the photochemical reaction, largely reduced subsequent microvascular damage. In conclusion, the GM1 ganglioside is able to prevent microvascular damage in the central nervous system.

Ganglioside levels in hypoxic brains from neonatal and premature infants

In this study, 13 cases of newborn term-gestational infants and six cases of premature infants who died of hypoxia were selected for the determination of ganglioside levels in several regions of brains obtained at autopsy. Cases were divided into three groups according to the hypoxic interval and gestational age: Group A, six cases of newborn infants. The average time of hypoxia was 6.4 h. Group B, seven cases of newborn infants. The average time of hypoxia was about 71 h. Group C, six cases of premature infants. The average hypoxia time was 34.7 h. Frontal cortex, forebrain, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus and cerebellum of each brain were examined. The method of Ladisch and Gillard (1985) was used to purify and quantify gangliosides. The results showed that total gangliosides decreased significantly in three regions of cerebral hemispheres of group B and in four brain regions of group C, as compared with group A (p less than 0.01). The amount of gangliosides in frontal cortex in group B was lower than in group C (p less than 0.01). The four major gangliosides (GM1, GD1a, GD1b, and GT1b) were all reduced in cerebral hemispheres of group B and C. In hypoxic brains, the percentage of gangliosides also showed some alterations. There was less GD1a in the cerebral hemispheres of group B and the frontal cortex of group C. The amount of GD1b was also less in the frontal cortex and forebrain of group B than in group A or C. The results suggest that severe hypoxia might cause decreases in brain gangliosides that correlate to the severity of brain damage.

Cerebellar ganglioside abnormalities in pcd mutant mice

The distribution of cerebellar gangliosides was studied in Purkinje cell degeneration (pcd/pcd) mutant mice at postnatal days 25, 30, 50, and 150. These mutants lose the majority of Purkinje cells between 18 and 50 days of age. A reactive gliosis accompanies Purkinje cell loss and a partial loss of granule cells occurs in pcd/pcd mice older than p50. Purkinje cell loss is associated with significant reductions in cerebellar weight and ganglioside concentration. This neuronal loss was also developmentally correlated with reductions of gangliosides (GT1a/LD1 and GT1b and with elevations of GD3. These results agree with previous findings in other cerebellar mutants that GT1a/LD1 and GT1b are concentrated in Purkinje cells and that GD3 is enriched in reactive glial cells. A slight, but significant, reduction in GD1a concentration occurred only in older pcd/pcd mice, consistent with previous findings in weaver and staggerer mice that GD1a is enriched in mature granule cells. The findings with pcd/pcd and other neurological mutants indicate that certain gangliosides can serve as cell-surface markers for monitoring changes in cerebellar cytoarchitecture that accompany development or disease.

Genetic control of ganglioside biosynthesis in mice

The enzymatic basis for the differences in hepatic ganglioside patterns in the mouse strains C57Bl/6 and Swiss White (SW) was investigated. SW has a "Swiss-type" ganglioside profile, expressing GM1- and GD1a- in addition to GM2- as major hepatic gangliosides, whereas C57Bl/6 shows a "GM2-type" profile, expressing only GM2- as the major hepatic ganglioside. The enzyme UDP-galactose:GM2 ganglioside galactosyltransferase (GM2-GalT), which catalyzes the synthesis of GM1 ganglioside, showed a four- to fivefold elevation in intact and solubilized liver Golgi membrane fractions of the SW strain compared to C57Bl/6. Crosses between C57Bl/6 and SW produced an F1 generation with a hepatic ganglioside and enzymatic phenotype intermediate between those of the two parental strains. All three genotypic groups show two forms of the Golgi apparatus enzyme with isoelectric points of 6.5-6.8 and 8.3-9.0. The simplest mode of action of genes which control the enzymatic phenotype that would be consistent with these findings are one or two structural genes or one or two cis-regulatory genes affecting the rate of enzyme synthesis.

Composition of gangliosides and neutral glycosphingolipids of brain in classical Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff disease: more lyso-GM2 in Sandhoff disease?

The ganglioside composition of the brain from an individual with classical Tay-Sachs disease and from an individual with Sandhoff disease was examined using our new quantitative methods for ganglioside content determination and compared with that of age-matched control brains. The concentration of GM2 was found to be 12.2 and 13.0 mumol/g of fresh tissue in Tay-Sachs disease and in Sandhoff disease cerebral gray matter, respectively. GM2 was 86 and 87% respectively, of total gangliosides. The concentration of GM1 and, in particular, GM3 ganglioside was also found to be increased, whereas the concentration of the major di- and trisialogangliosides (GD1a, GD1b, and GT1b) had diminished markedly. There was no significant increase in level of any other ganglioside than lyso-GM2. Its concentration was 12 and 16 nmol/g in cerebral gray matter of two Tay-Sachs disease brains and 43 nmol/g in Sandhoff disease brain. The Sandhoff disease brain also differed from the classical Tay-Sachs disease brain by having a much higher concentration of gangliotriaosylceramide and globotetraosylceramide. The structures of relevant gangliosides and neutral glycolipids were established by fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry and permethylation studies.

[Gangliosidosis GM1--type 1. Anatomo-clinical study of a case]

The observation of generalized GM1 gangliosidosis type 1 (Norman-Landing disease) is reported. The case is typical, featuring all the main clinical and biological signs of the disease. Diagnosis was established by the demonstration of a severe deficit in beta-galactosidase activity in leucocytes, by the demonstration of oligosaccharides in the urine, and by the histological examination after the fatal outcome before the age of two with severe respiratory distress.