Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017;14(6):586-591.
doi: 10.2174/1567205014666170117094038.

Brain Gangliosides in Alzheimer's Disease: Increased Expression of Cholinergic Neuron-Specific Gangliosides

Yuki Fukami  1 , Toshio Ariga  1 , Mitsunori Yamada  2 , Nobuhiro Yuki  3
Affiliations

Brain Gangliosides in Alzheimer's Disease: Increased Expression of Cholinergic Neuron-Specific Gangliosides

Yuki Fukami et al. Curr Alzheimer Res. 2017.

Abstract

Background: Gangliosides are enriched in the neuronal membranes. Gangliosides are shown to interact with amyloid-β proteins, leading to formation of amyloid fibrils in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains. Several earlier studies indicated that the alterations of ganglioside metabolism could contribute the pathogenesis of AD.

Methods: Gangliosides were isolated from the frontal lobes in five patients with AD and three control subjects. Gangliosides were assessed by high performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) with resorcinol staining and immunostaining using mouse monoclonal antibodies against cholinergic neuronspecific (Chol-1α) gangliosides.

Results: In all AD brains, not only the total sialic acid content but also a-series gangliosides, GM1 and GD1a, were dramatically reduced as compared with those in control subjects. These results are a hallmark of the pathogenesis in AD. In contrast, Chol-1α gangliosides, GT1aα and GQ1bα, which are specific markers of cholinergic neurons, were significantly increased in AD brains.

Conclusion: The expression of Chol-1α gangliosides may be caused by a compensation to preserve the function of the cholinergic neuron and play an important role in cholinergic synaptic transmission.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Chol-1α antigen; cholinergic neuron; dementia; ganglioside.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources