Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.4.99.6 (sialyltransferase)
 1,546 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Developmental changes in ganglioside composition and biosynthesis was studied in rat brain between embryonic day (E) 14 and birth. In E14 brains, GM3 and GD3 were predominant. At E16, "b" series gangliosides, such as GD1b, GT1b, and GQ1b, increased in content. After E18, "a" series gangliosides such as GM1, GD1a, and GT1a increased in content, and the content of GM3 and GD3 markedly decreased. Because of these changes in composition, we determined the activities, in homogenates of embryonic brains, of two key enzymes of ganglioside synthesis: sialyltransferase for the synthesis of GD3 from GM3 and N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase for GM2 synthesis from GM3. The sialyltransferase activity (GM3----GD3) was constant between E14 and E18 but decreased rapidly from E18 to birth. In contrast, the N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase activity (GM3----GM2) increased between E14 and E18 but was constant from E18 to birth. These changes in ganglioside composition and enzymatic activities indicate that during development there is a shift from synthesis of the simplest gangliosides of the "a" and "b" pathways to synthesis of the more complex gangliosides.
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PMID:Developmental changes in ganglioside composition and synthesis in embryonic rat brain. 313 85

Lipid analysis of gestational day E14.5 mouse brain revealed elevation of ceramide to a tissue concentration that induced apoptosis when added to the medium of neuroprogenitor cells grown in cell culture. Elevation of ceramide was coincident with the first appearance of b-series complex gangliosides (BCGs). Expression of BCGs by stable transfection of murine neuroblastoma (F-11) cells with sialyltransferase-II (ST2) resulted in a 70% reduction of ceramide-induced apoptosis. This was most likely due to an 80% reduced expression of prostate apoptosis response-4 (PAR-4). PAR-4 expression and apoptosis were restored by preincubation of ST2-transfected cells with N-butyl deoxinojirimycin (NB-DNJ) or PD98059, two inhibitors of ganglioside biosynthesis or p42/44 mitogen-activated protein (MAPK) kinase, respectively. In sections of day E14.5 mouse brain, the intermediate zone showed intensive staining for complex gangliosides, but only low staining for apoptosis (TUNEL) and PAR-4. Apoptosis and PAR-4 expression, however, were elevated in the ventricular zone which only weakly stained for complex gangliosides. Whole cell patch clamping revealed a 2-fold increased calcium influx in ST2-transfected cells, the blocking of which with nifedipine restored apoptosis to the level of untransfected cells. In serum-free culture, supplementation of the medium with IGF-1 was required to maintain MAPK phosphorylation and the anti-apoptotic effect of BCG expression. BCG-enhanced calcium influx and the presence of insulin-like growth factor-1 may thus activate a cell survival mechanism that selectively protects developing neurons against ceramide-induced apoptosis by up-regulation of MAPK and reduction of PAR-4 expression.
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PMID:Regulation of apoptosis during neuronal differentiation by ceramide and b-series complex gangliosides. 1157 45