Gangliosides in Health and Disease


Book Description

Gangliosides in Health and Disease, Volume 156, presents the latest information on Gangliosides, a class of glycolipids that are found on all vertebrate cell surfaces, and are particularly abundant in the brain. Individual chapters in this new volume cover Gangliosides as Toxin Receptors, Gangliosides in Cancer Cell Signaling, Gangliosides in inflammation and neurodegeneration, Gangliosides as functional galectin receptors, Gangliosides in signal transduction, Gangliosides in brain tumor immunology, and Gangliosides in axon regeneration and stability, amongst other related topics. This book brings together world experts in ganglioside structure and function who have been assembled to contribute to this thorough update of the field. Contains accessible content that is ideal for students and researchers alike Written by leading authorities in the field




Ganglioside Biochemistry


Book Description

This book presents the latest knowledge and the most recent research results in the field of ganglioside biochemistry. The early chapters cover all relevant background on sialic acids and their biosynthesis, on N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), which cannot be synthesized by humans, and on general aspects of ganglioside research. Ganglioside adsorption, disorders of ganglioside degradation, and the regulation of gangliosides are thoroughly discussed. A major focus of the book is the role of gangliosides in cancer. Here, the discussion encompasses, for example, the biological importance, antigenicity, and immunological actions of tumor-associated gangliosides (TAGs), the significance of different glycolipids and gangliosides as TAGs, and emerging anti-cancer vaccine strategies. The ability of sialic acids and TAGs of tumor cells to escape immunosurveillance and immunoediting also receives detailed attention. The significance of sialic acids in regulation of the complement system is explained, and the closing chapter focuses especially on the role of sialyl T antigen in cancer. The book will be of value for all who are interested in functional glycobiology and glycomic studies.




Essentials of Glycobiology


Book Description

Sugar chains (glycans) are often attached to proteins and lipids and have multiple roles in the organization and function of all organisms. "Essentials of Glycobiology" describes their biogenesis and function and offers a useful gateway to the understanding of glycans.




The Gangliosidoses


Book Description

The history of so-called storage diseases goes back to the end of the 19th and to the beginning of the 20th century when Fabry, Tay, Sachs, Gaucher, Niemann, Hunter, and Hurler first described the disorders which up to now are called by their eponym. The clinical descriptions soon were followed by pathologic studies, and within a short time ,the hereditary characters of these rare afflictions came to be recognized. Although sporadic reports during the early part of this century dealt with biochemical analysis of the "stored" materials in these disorders, it was actually in the late 1930s that the abnormal deposits started to attract the increasing attention of chemists. S. H. Thannhauser brought the broad concept of lipidoses as a group of related disorders to the attention of the medical profession for the first time, and in 1939 Klenk observed that the brain of a patient with Tay-Sachs disease contained greatly increased amounts of a glycolipid for which he proposed the name "ganglioside. " 20 years has thrown new light on these afflic Work carried out in the past tions and has pinpointed the enzymatic and lipid abnormalities associated with the various "storage" diseases. Moreover, electron microscopic studies have permitted detailed investigations of the fine structure of the various organs of afflicted patients.




Inherited Metabolic Disease in Adults


Book Description

As clinical management of inherited metabolic diseases (IMDs) has improved, more patients affected by these conditions are surviving into adulthood. This trend, coupled with the widespread recognition that IMDs can present differently and for the first time during adulthood, makes the need for a working knowledge of these diseases more important than ever. Inherited Metabolic Disease in Adults offers an authoritative clinical guide to the adult manifestations of these challenging and myriad conditions. These include both the classic pediatric-onset conditions and a number of new diseases that can manifest at any age. It is the first book to give a clear and concise overview of how this group of conditions affects adult patients, a that topic will become a growing imperative for physicians across primary and specialized care.




Biological Function of Gangliosides


Book Description

This book focuses on the role of gangliosides in three areas of medicine in which rapid progress has been made in the last decade: cancer, peripheral neuropathies and Alzheimer's disease. The volume further reflects progress in the pathogenesis of peripheral neuropathies, and the controversial role of gangliosides, also in therapeutic administration. There is a section on the role of gangliosides in neuronal differentiation and development and their receptor functions and cell surface activities. This excellent addition to the renowned Progress in Brain Research series also contains an invaluable plenary lecture on molecular basis of cell adhesion by Nobel prizewinner Gerald Edelman.




GM3 Signaling


Book Description

This book reviews recent progress in understanding of the signaling and biochemistry of GM3 ganglioside in eukaryotic cells. GM3 is the simplest of the gangliosides and the precursor of other gangliosides. It is expressed in the outer leaflet of plasma cell membranes and has roles in the recognition, interaction, binding, adhesion, and motility of cells. In addition, GM3 has been documented to have functional roles in cell migration, proliferation, senescence, and apoptosis. The full range of topics of interest are addressed in the book. The early chapters discuss the synthesis of GM3, its molecular localization in cells, and its basic function as an interacting molecule. The ways in which GM3 exerts its effects via various growth factor receptors are fully explored. Current knowledge of the part played by GM3 in health and disease is discussed in depth. For example, its roles in preventing inflammation, inhibiting tumor angiogenesis and tumor growth, and suppressing arthritis are highlighted, and attention drawn to the significance of GM3 as a driver of impaired wound healing in diabetics. The book will be of interest to all who want a comprehensive update on research in this field.




Neurobiology of Glycoconjugates


Book Description

This revised and renamed volume reflects a number of important changes in content and emphasis since this field was first surveyed in Complex carbohydrates of nervous tissue in 1979. A third of the chapters did not appear in the predecessor volume, and more than half have new authors. In this expand




Structure and Function of Gangliosides


Book Description

This volume records the proceedings of an International Symposium on The Structure and Function of Gangliosides, held at Le Bischenberg, Alsace, France, in April 23-27, 1979. The meeting was convened to get a comprehensive view of the immense activity that had occurred in the field since the previous conference on gangliosides held at Mont Sainte-Odile, ~lsace, France, in April 1973. At a conference on Enzymes of Lipid Metabolism held at the same place in April, 1977, several of the participants from the first ganglioside conference in 1973 met again. All previous participants agreed that the first meeting with its many frank and stimulating lectures, round tables and informal discussions had been of tremendous importance for the activity in the field and led to many personal contacts and a warm friendship among the ganglioside researchers. The success of the first meeting must be ascribed largely to one single man, PAUL MANDEL. Therefore, we decided to dedicate the next ganglioside conference to hirn and I was given the privilege to arrange the meeting together with him and staff members at Centre de Neurochirnie, Strasbourg. The Symposium on The Structure and Function of Gangliosides was arranged to honour PAUL MANDEL for his unique and never failing efforts to promote and strengthen international col laboration in all fields of neurochemistry.




Progressive Brain Disorders in Childhood


Book Description

A review of childhood neurodegenerative and other progressive but non-degenerative disorders to guide their diagnosis and management.