title: Differential expression patterns of gangliosides in the ischemic cerebral cortex produced by middle cerebral artery occlusion.
abstract: Neuronal damage subsequent to transient cerebral ischemia is a multifactorial process involving several overlapping mechanisms. Gangliosides, sialic acid-conjugated glycosphingolipids, reduce the severity of acute brain damage in vitro. However their in vivo effects on the cerebral cortex damaged by ischemic infarct are unknown. To assess the possible protective role of gangliosides we examined their expression in the cerebral cortex damaged by ischemic infarct in the rat. Ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion, and the resulting damage was observed by staining with 2, 3, 5-triphenylterazolium chloride (TTC). High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) showed that gangliosides GM3 and GM1 increased in the damaged cerebral cortex, and immunofluorescence microscopy also revealed a significant change in expression of GM1. In addition, in situ hybridization demonstrated an increase in the mRNA for ganglioside GM3 synthase. These results suggest that gangliosides GM1 and GM3 may be synthesized in vivo to protect the cerebral cortex from ischemic damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Science, College of Natural Sciences, Wonkwang University, Iksan 570-749, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Hoon
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.forename: Sung Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dea Hoon
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ji Su
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sun Mi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seo Ul
authors.initials: SU
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kyu Yong
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Byoung Boo
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Young Kug
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Choo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D005677:G(M1) Ganglioside / Q000378:metabolism*; D005679:G(M3) Ganglioside / Q000378:metabolism*; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D020768:Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012799:Sialyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts
chemical_list: D005679:G(M3) Ganglioside; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D005677:G(M1) Ganglioside; C009591:triphenyltetrazolium; D012799:Sialyltransferases; C021343:haematoside synthetase