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GM2-gangliosidosis, AB variant is a rare, autosomal recessive metabolic disorder that causes progressive destruction of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Mutations in the GM2A gene cause AB variant. The GM2A gene provides instructions for making a protein called the GM2 activator.
GM2A is a lipid transfer protein that stimulates the enzymatic processing of gangliosides, and also T-cell activation through lipid presentation. This protein binds molecules of ganglioside GM2, extracts them from membranes, and presents them to beta- hexosaminidase A for cleavage of N-acetyl-D-galactosamine and conversion to GM3.
This enzyme catalyses the formation of the gangliosides (i.e. sialic-acid-containing glycosphingolipids) GM2, GD2 and SM2 from GM3, GD3 and SM3, respectively. References [ edit ]
The HEXA gene is a protein encoding gene that codes for the lysosomal enzyme beta-hexosaminidase. This enzyme, combined with the GM2 activator protein, is responsible for the breakdown of ganglioside GM2 within the lysosome. Defects in the HEXA gene, however, prevent this degradation, leading to a buildup of toxins in brain and spinal cord cells.
The name ganglioside was first applied by the German scientist Ernst Klenk in 1942 to lipids newly isolated from ganglion cells of the brain. [1] More than 60 gangliosides are known, which differ from each other mainly in the position and number of NANA residues .
Beta cells are specialized cells in the pancreas that produce and release the hormone insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar levels. People with type 2 diabetes have a weakened beta-cell ...
Tay–Sachs disease occurs when hexosaminidase A loses its ability to function. People with Tay–Sachs disease are unable to remove the GalNAc residue from the G M2 ganglioside, and as a result, they end up storing 100 to 1000 times more G M2 gangliosides in the brain than the unaffected person. Over 100 different mutations have been ...
GM2 and GD2 gangliosides are sialic acid-containing glycosphingolipids. GalNAc-T is the enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of G(M2) and G(D2) glycosphingolipids. GalNAc-T catalyzes the transfer of GalNAc into G(M3) and G(D3) by a beta-1,4 linkage, resulting in the synthesis of G(M2) and G(D2), respectively. [6]