title: Oxidation and base-catalyzed elimination of the saccharide portion of GSLs having very different polarities.
abstract: Glycosphingolipids (GSLs), present in cell membranes, participate in a variety of biological functions. Although their exact role(s) may not be understood, it has been shown that 1) embryos lacking glucosylceramide synthase activity do not develop normally, 2) GSLs can affect neuritogenesis, and 3) they can function as receptors for some pathogens. To study the role of the saccharide portion of a GSL in any of these functions, it is necessary to either isolate it from the intact GSL or synthesize it. Because syntheses are more complex, modifications were made to the oxidation/elimination procedure previously described for the isolation of the saccharide portion of GM1 and GD1a to enable it to be used with GSLs of varying polarity. The key is to use a mixture of GSLs that differ in polarity. This appears to eliminate problems encountered when purified GSLs such as sulfatide or GT1b are used.
authors: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA.
authors: B C
authors: BC
authors: Yowler
authors: S A
authors: SA
authors: Stoehr
authors: C L
authors: CL
authors: Schengrund
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002417:Cattle; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer / Q000379:methods; D006026:Glycoside Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D006028:Glycosphingolipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction
chemical_list: D006028:Glycosphingolipids; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D006026:Glycoside Hydrolases; C051111:ceramide glycanase