Plasma membrane glycosphingolipid signaling: a turning point

GM1 structural requirements to mediate neuronal functions

Since the 1980s, it has been known that the administration of ganglioside GM1 to cultured cells induced or enhanced neuronal differentiation. GM1 mechanism of action relies on its direct interaction and subsequent activation of the membrane tyrosine kinase receptor, TrkA, which naturally serves as NGF receptor. This process is mediated by the sole oligosaccharide portion of GM1, the pentasaccharide β-Gal-(1-3)-β-GalNAc-(1-4)-[α-Neu5Ac-(2-3)]-β-Gal-(1-4)-β-Glc. Here we detailed the minimum structural requirements of the oligosaccharide portion of GM1 for mediating the TrkA dependent neuritogenic processing. By in vitro and in silico biochemical approaches, we demonstrated that the minimal portion of GM1 required for the TrkA activation is the inner core of the ganglioside's oligosaccharide β-Gal-(1-3)-β-GalNAc-(1-4)-[α-Neu5Ac-(2-3)]-β-Gal. The addition of a sialic acid residue at position 3 of the outer galactose of the GM1 oligosaccharide, which forms the oligosaccharide of GD1a, prevented the interaction with TrkA and the resulting neuritogenesis. On the contrary, the addition of a fucose residue at position 2 of the outer galactose, forming the Fucosyl-GM1 oligosaccharide, did not prevent the TrkA-mediated neuritogenesis.