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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Ganglioside Extraction, Purification and Profiling
Published on: March 12, 2021
Physiopathological function of hematoside (GM3 ganglioside)
1Division of Glycopathology, Institute of Molecular Biomembranes and Glycobiology, Tohoku Pharmaceutical University, Miyagi, Japan. jin@tohoku-pharm.ac.jp
Abstract:
Since I was involved in the molecular cloning of GM3 synthase (SAT-I), which is the primary enzyme for the biosynthesis of gangliosides in 1998, my research group has been concentrating on our efforts to explore the physiological and pathological implications of gangliosides especially for GM3. During the course of study, we demonstrated the molecular pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance focusing on the interaction between insulin receptor and gangliosides in membrane microdomains and propose a new concept: Life style-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, are a membrane microdomain disorder caused by aberrant expression of gangliosides. We also encountered an another interesting aspect indicating the indispensable role of gangliosides in auditory system. After careful behavioral examinations of SAT-I knockout mice, their hearing ability was seriously impaired with selective degeneration of the stereocilia of hair cells in the organ of Corti. This is the first observation demonstrating a direct link between gangliosides and hearing functions.
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