Ganglioside GM2 . sodium salt (bovine brain)

Isolated from bovine brain. Soluble in water (liposomal aggregates) or chloroform:methanol (2:1). 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 GM2 is a very minor component of the nervous system, but it is accumulated in brains from Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff disease patients, due to genetic defect of lysosomal beta-hexosaminidase.