title: Immunology of gangliosides.
abstract: This review discusses the immunology of gangliosides from the perspective of tumor, neuronal and general immunology. Antiganglioside antibodies in human sera are invariably IgM and are found in healthy individuals. Their titers decline with age. Persistent high titer of IgM is associated with several diseases, particularly neuropathies. Membrane-bound gangliosides are important tumor-associated antigens and targets for immune attack. Cells enriched with gangliosides can be used as cancer vaccines. Efficacy of these vaccines depends on the viability of whole cells, integrity of the cell membranes, adjuvants and topography of the tumor-associated antigens. The role of antiganglioside IgM is to eliminate the immunosuppressive gangliosides shed from tissues during ageing, degeneration of neural and extraneural tissues, and tumor growth and necrosis. In addition, in vitro observations with human and murine monoclonal antibodies suggest that they are capable of complement dependent cytotoxicity and apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Glycoimmunotherapy, John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John's Health Center, 2200 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404, USA. ravi@jwci.org
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Ravindranath
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gonzales
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishimoto
authors.forename: W Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Tam
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Soh
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Morton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000737:chemistry; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D001323:Autoantibodies; D015415:Biomarkers; D005732:Gangliosides; D007075:Immunoglobulin M