Chemical Properties
Off-white powder
Uses
Ganglioside GM1 (Ovine Brain) has been used in the preparation of small unilamellar vesicles for fluorescence studies. It has also been used in liposome preparation for circular dichroism studies with human wild type?synuclein. It may be used as a standard lipid for electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS) analysis.
Definition
ChEBI: A sialotetraosylceramide consisting of a branched pentasaccharide made up from one sialyl residue, two galactose residues, one N-acetylgalactosamine residue and a glucose residue at the reducing end attached to N-stear
ylsphingosine via a beta-linkage.
General Description
Ganglioside GM1 is referred as brain ganglioside. It is an acidic glycosphingolipid comprising N-acetylneuraminic acid or N-glycolylneuraminic acid residues. It is upregulated in developing brain. Ganglioside GM1 has five glycosyl units.
Biochem/physiol Actions
Ganglioside GM1 is a modulator of Ca2+ flux in plasmamembrane. It plays a key role in neuronal development and maturation and has neuroprotective functionality. GM1 ganglioside from ovine has many pharmaceutical applications and is regarded as an effective therapeutic for Huntington′s disease. Accumulation of GM1 in brain due to β-galactosidase enzyme deficiency is implicated in metabolic disorder, GM1 gangliosidosis.
