Ganglioside GM1 (porcine brain) (sodium salt)

Ganglioside G_M1 is a monosialylated ganglioside and the prototypic ganglioside for those containing one sialic acid residue.^1,2 It is found in a large variety of cells, including immune cells and neurons, and is enriched in lipid rafts in the cell membrane.³ It associates with growth factor receptors, including TrkA, TrkB, and the GDNF receptor complex containing Ret and GFRα, and is required for TrkA expression on the cell surface. Ganglioside G_M1 interacts with other proteins to increase calcium influx, affecting various calcium-dependent processes, including inducing neuronal outgrowth during differentiation. Ganglioside G_M1 acts as a receptor for cholera toxin, which binds to its oligosaccharide group, facilitating toxin cell entry into epithelial cells of the jejunum.^4,5 Similarly, it is bound by the heat-labile enterotoxin from E. coli in the pathogenesis of traveler's diarrhea.⁶ Ganglioside G_M1 sensitizes inactivated T cells to TNF-α-induced apoptosis and induces apoptosis of activated T cells even in the absence of TNF-α.⁷ Ganglioside G_M1 is found at higher levels on T cells isolated from patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) compared with T cells from patients without cancer. Levels of ganglioside G_M1 are decreased in the substantia nigra pars compacta in postmortem brain from patients with Parkinson's disease.³ Ganglioside G_M1 gangliosidosis, characterized by a deficiency in G_M1-β-galactosidase, the enzyme that degrades ganglioside G_M1, leads to accumulation of the gangliosides G_M1 and G_A1 in neurons and can be fatal in infants.¹ This product contains ganglioside G_M1 molecular species. As this product is derived from a natural source, there may be variations in the sphingoid backbone.