Main description:

This detailed volume explores methods of examining gangliosides, membrane amphiphilic lipids that are deeply involved in the modulation of the overall properties of cellular membranes, as well as of the functions of membrane-associated proteins. The contents take into account the vital availability of new enzymatic approaches, the knowledge of an incredibly extensive number of glyco-enzymes, and the improvement of multi-genetic analyses. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Authoritative and practical, Gangliosides: Methods and Protocols serves as a valuable guidebook for entering in the vast research world of gangliosides.

Contents:

1. Chemical and Physicochemical Properties of Gangliosides

Laura Mauri, Sandro Sonnino, and Alessandro Prinetti

2. Gangliosides of the Nervous System

Robert Ledeen and Gusheng Wu

3. Scattering Techniques and Ganglioside Aggregates: Laser Light, Neutron and X-Ray Scattering

Elena Del Favero, Paola Brocca, and Laura Cantu

4. Gangliosides in the Immune System: Role of Glycosphingolipids and Glycosphingolipid-Enriched Lipid Rafts in Immunological Functions

Kazuhisa Iwabuchi

5. Ganglioside Metabolism and Its Inherited Diseases

Bernadette Breiden and Konrad Sandhoff

6. Gangliosides and Tumors

Reiji Kannagi, Bi-He Cai, Hsiang-Chi Huang, Chia-Chun Chao, and Keiichiro Sakuma

7. Anti-Ganglioside Antibodies in Peripheral Nerve Pathology

Hugh J. Willison

8. Protocols of Glycosyltransferase Assays: Ganglioside Globoside and Lewis-X Intermediate-Lactosylceramide Biosyntheses in Eukeryotic Systems

Subhash Basu, Arun Agarwal, Manju Basu, Rui Ma, and Joseph R. Moskal

9. Mass Spectrometry of Gangliosides

Akemi Suzuki, Minoru Suzuki, Emi Ito, Takahiro Nitta, and Jin-ichi Inokuchi

10. Visualization of Brain Gangliosides Using MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry

Eiji Sugiyama and Mitsutoshi Setou

11. Immunoelectron Microscopy of Gangliosides

Takuma Tsuji, Akikazu Fujita, and Toyoshi Fujimoto

12. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of Gangliosides

Domenico Acquotti, Laura Mauri, and Sandro Sonnino

13. Methods for the Preparation of Anti-Ganglioside Monoclonal Antibodies

Noriyuki Yuasa and Ikuo Kawashima

14. Chemical Synthesis of Gangliosides

Akihiro Imamura and Makoto Kiso

15. Radioactive Gangliosides for Biological Studies

Laura Mauri, Simona Prioni, Maria Grazia Ciampa, and Sandro Sonnino

16. Synthesis of Fluorescent Gangliosides

Gunter Schwarzmann

17. Synthesis of Photoactivatable and Paramagnetic Gangliosides

Gunter Schwarzmann

18. Methods for Assay of Ganglioside Catabolic Enzymes

Nicoletta Loberto, Giulia Lunghi, Domitilla Schiumarini, Maura Samarani, Elena Chiricozzi, and Massimo Aureli

19. Pharmacological Modulation of Glycosphingolipid Metabolism

Jin-ichi Inokuchi, Takashi Ode, and Miki Hara-Yokoyama

20. Molecular Dynamics of Gangliosides

Takumi Yamaguchi and Koichi Kato

21. Determination of Glycolipid Ligands of Carbohydrate-Binding Proteins Directly on Thin Layer Chromatograms

John L. Magnani

22. Identification of KDN-Gangliosides

Ken Kitajima

23. Glycoreplica Peptides

Teruhiko Matsubara, Toshinori Sato, and Takao Taki