title: Plasmatic Ganglioside Profile and Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Case-Control Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Gangliosides are glycosphingolipids that are particularly abundant in the nervous system, including the retina. However, their precise role in this tissue and its pathologies remain poorly understood. The objective of the present study was to characterize the ganglioside profile of human plasma and to determine whether it is affected in age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-three subjects were included: control subjects (n = 25), atrophic AMD patients (n = 27) and exudative AMD patients (n = 31). For each subject, gangliosides were extracted from plasma and analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  GM3 appeared to be by far the major ganglioside of human plasma, associated with GD3. No specific ganglioside class was detected in the plasma of AMD patients. Fourteen molecular species of GM3 and 9 species of GD3, accounting for the variability of the ceramide moiety of the ganglioside molecule, were identified and characterized. Analyses revealed no significant differences in the proportion of these species between control, atrophic and exudative AMD patient groups. Total GM3 levels did not differ either.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although gangliosides are considered important for the retina's structure and function, it seems that circulating gangliosides are not associated with the retinal damage occurring during the course of AMD.
authors.affiliation: Dx00E9;partement d'Ophtalmologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Dijon, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dossarps
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martine
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Berdeaux
authors.forename: Estelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sibille
authors.forename: Alain M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bron
authors.forename: Catherine P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Creuzot-Garcher
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bretillon
authors.forename: Elodie A Y
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Masson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D005260:Female; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012160:Retina / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence
chemical_list: D005732:Gangliosides