Ganglioside GM1 . sodium salt

Gangliosides are acidic glycosphingolipids that form lipid rafts in the outer leaflet of the cell plasma membrane, especially in neuronal cells in the central nervous system. They participate in cellular proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, signal transduction, cell-to-cell interactions, tumorigenesis and metastasis. The accumulation of gangliosides has been linked to several diseases. Ganglioside GM1 is a major sialoglycolipid of neuronal membranes that modulates calcium homeostasis and which is important for neuronal plasticity and repair mechanisms. It binds to cholera toxin B subunit, resulting in stimulation of adenylyl cyclase in a wide variety of cell types. After cholera toxin binds to membrane associated Monosialoganglioside GM1, the A subunit of cholera toxin is translocated to the cell interior, where it catalyzes the ADP ribosylation of the membrane associated Gs subunit of adenylyl cyclase. In addition, binding of cholera toxin to monosialoganglioside GM1 causes translocation of NF-κB and activation of dendritic cells. E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) is structurally and functionally similar to cholera toxin and binds GM1 as well. GM1 has also been shown to improve Parkinson's disease symptoms and slow it's progression.