Distribution of the cholinergic-specific antigen Chol-1 in mouse spinal cord neurons developing in culture

Total synthesis of a cholinergic neuron-specific ganglioside GT1a alpha: a high affinity ligand for myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG)

An efficient total synthesis of a cholinergic neuron-specific ganglioside GT1a alpha (IV3NeuAcIII6NeuAcII3NeuAc-GgOse4Cer) is described. The suitably protected sialyl-alpha(2-->6)-gangliotriose (III6NeuAc-GgOse3) derivative was glycosylated with the phenyl 2-thioglycoside of sialic acid in the presence of N-iodosuccinimide (NIS) and trimethylsilyl trifluoromethane-sulfonate (TMSOTf) in acetonitrile medium, giving the disialogangliotriose (III6NeuAcII3NeuAc-GgOse3) derivative which contains both sialyl-alpha(2-->6)-GalNAc and sialyl-alpha(2-->3)-Gal structures (Route I). This pentasaccharide was efficiently synthesized also by the coupling of (methyl 5-acetamido-4,7,8,9-tetra-O-acetyl-3,5-dideoxy-D-glycero-alpha-D-galacto -2-nonulopyranosylonate)-(2-->6)-2-deoxy-3,4-O-isopropylidene-2-ph thalimido-D-galactopyranosyl trichloroacetimidate with 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl (methyl 5-acetamido-4,7,8,9-tetra-O-acetyl-3,5-dideoxy-D-glycero-alpha-D-galacto -2-nonulopyranosylonate)-(2-->3)-(2,6-di-O-benzyl-beta-D-galactopy ranosyl)-(1-->4)-2,3,6-tri-O-benzyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside, followed by conversion of the phthalimido group to the acetamido group (Route II). O-Deisopropylidenation and further glycosylation with methyl (methyl 5-acetamido-4,7,8,9-tetra-O-acetyl-3,5-dideoxy-D-glycero-alpha-D-gala ct-2-nonulopyranosylonate)-(2-->3)-2,4,6-tri-O-benzoyl-1-thio-b eta-D-galactopyranoside, promoted by dimethyl(methylthio)sulfonium triflate (DMTST), gave the desired trisialogangliotetraose (IV3NeuAcIII6NeuAcII3NeuAc-GgOse4) derivative, which was converted stepwise into the title ganglioside GT1a alpha by the introduction of the ceramide part and then complete deprotection. The ganglioside obtained was shown to be identical with the native GT1a alpha on TLC-immunostaining.

I-type lectins in the nervous system

The number of animal lectins, basically defined upon their interaction with specific carbohydrate structures, is growing considerably during the last few years. Among these proteins the recently identified subfamily of I-type lectins consists of mainly transmembranous glycoproteins belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily. Most of the I-type lectins participate in cell adhesion events, as are the different sialoadhesins recognizing sialylated glycan structures, which represent the best characterized subgroup. I-type lectins are abundant in the nervous system and have been implicated in a number of morphogenetic processes as fundamental as axon growth, myelin formation and growth factor signaling. In the present review, we summarize the structural and functional properties of I-type lectins expressed in neural tissues with a main focus on the sialoadhesin myelin-associated glycoprotein, the neural cell adhesion molecule and the fibroblast growth factor receptors.

Sialic acid specificity of myelin-associated glycoprotein binding

Myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG), a nervous system cell adhesion molecule, is an I-type lectin that binds to sialylated glycoconjugates, including gangliosides bearing characteristic structural determinants (Yang, L. J.-S., Zeller, C. B., Shaper, N. L., Kiso, M., Hasegawa, A., Shapiro, R. E., and Schnaar, R. L. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93, 814-818). Two cell adhesion systems, COS-1 monkey kidney fibroblasts transiently transfected to express MAG and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells stably transfected to express MAG, were used to probe the structural specificity of MAG-ganglioside binding. Both cell types bound to the same gangliosides: GQ1b alpha (IV3NeuAc,III6NeuAc,II3(NeuAc)2Gg4Cer) > GT1b = GD1a > GM3 > GM1, GD1b, and GQ1b (the latter do not support adhesion). Binding was enhanced by pretreatment of MAG-expressing cells with neuraminidase. MAG-expressing Chinese hamster ovary cells bound directly to gangliosides resolved on thin layer chromatograms, allowing detection of MAG binding species in a mixture. The simplest ganglioside ligand for MAG was GM3 bearing N-acetylneuraminic acid, whereas GM3 bearing N-glycolylneuraminic acid did not support adhesion. Chemical modifications of N-acetylneuraminic acid residues (on GD1a) abrogated MAG binding. Mild periodate oxidation of sialic acids to their corresponding seven-carbon (or eight-carbon) sialic acid aldehydes abolished MAG binding, as did further conversion to the corresponding primary alcohols. Eliminating the anionic charge by ethyl esterification, amidation, or reduction also abolished MAG-mediated cell adhesion. These data demonstrate that MAG-ganglioside binding is highly specific and defines key carbohydrate structural determinants for MAG-mediated cell adhesion to gangliosides.

Cholinergic-specific glycoconjugates

Cholinergic nerve terminals utilize glycoconjugates in several ways, as surface markers and as structural components of the synaptic vesicles present within them. The surface markers have been discovered immunochemically: antibodies raised against them are able specifically to sensitize the cholinergic subpopulation of mammalian brain synaptosomes to complement-mediated lysis. One such group of antigens (Chol-1) have been identified as a novel series of minor gangliosides having in common a sialylated N-acetylgalactosamine residue. These gangliosides may constitute the major gangliosides at cholinergic terminals. A second surface antigen (Chol-2) is thought to be a protein with an epitope in common with a Torpedo electric organ ganglioside. Cholinergic synaptic vesicles are rich in a proteoglycan which appears to assist in the sequestration of acetylcholine within the vesicle and to stabilize the vesicle membrane during cycles of exocytosis and recovery. It may be the cholinergic equivalent of the chromogranins.

A novel cholinergic-specific antigen (Chol-2) in mammalian brain

Three new antisera have been raised in sheep against cholinergic electromotor presynaptic plasma membranes prepared from the electric organs of the electric ray, Torpedo marmorata. They all recognized one or more cholinergic-specific antigens in the mammalian nervous system by the following criteria: they sensitized the cholinergic subpopulation of rat-brain synaptosomes--and only this subpopulation--to lysis by the complement system and, in an immunocytochemical study, selectively stained choline acetyltransferase-positive cholinergic neurons in the rat spinal cord. However, two of the three antisera failed to recognize Chol-1 alpha and -beta, two closely related minor gangliosides already identified as the cholinergic-specific antigens recognized by previous anti-Torpedo presynaptic plasma membrane antisera or indeed any other ganglioside and the third recognized only Chol-1 alpha. A further investigation of the antigen(s) recognized by the most antigenic of the new antisera indicated that it is proteinaceous in nature, but has epitopes in common with electric organ gangliosides.