Ultrastructural lesions of ovine GM1 gangliosidosis

Ovine GM1 gangliosidosis, an inherited disease of sheep with deficiencies of beta-galactosidase and alpha-neuraminidase, storage of GM1 ganglioside, asialo-GM1 and neutral long chain oligosaccharides in the brain, autosomal recessive inheritance, and histopathologic lesions typical of lysosomal storage diseases, has been described recently. Selected tissues from two sheep with the condition and an age-matched control were examined by transmission electron microscopy to characterize the ultrastructural lesions. In all central and peripheral neurons, the majority of the cytoplasmic space was occupied by membrane-limited enlarged bodies judged to be lysosomes, with a resultant displacement of normal organelles. The neuronal lysosomes usually contained stacks and concentric whorls of lamellae of stored material with a periodicity of 25 to 75 nM. Individual lamellae consisted of fine, multilayered (three to 10, and occasionally more) bands. Less commonly, enlarged neuronal lysosomes contained fibrillogranular or electron dense material. Central nervous system microglia and peripheral nervous system satellite cells had less extensive storage of similar material within enlarged lysosomes, whereas oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and Schwann cells were relatively unaffected. Hepatocytes and renal epithelial cells also had storage of less quantity than neurons, but within even larger lysosomes. In contrast to neuronal storage material, visceral storage consisted of vesicles containing fibrillogranular or electron dense material within a mostly electron lucent matrix with only occasional lamellae. Kupffer cells and macrophages from bone marrow were affected similarly to but less severely than hepatocytes and renal epithelial cells, whereas hematopoietic cells and chondrocytes were unaffected. Both neuronal and visceral storage were evident, but the neuronal storage was much more extensive.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)