Frontiers in Neuroscience (Jul 2024)

Dietary gangliosides rescue GM3 synthase deficiency outcomes in mice accompanied by neurogenesis in the hippocampus

  • Jin-ichi Inokuchi,
  • Jin-ichi Inokuchi,
  • Shinji Go,
  • Akemi Suzuki,
  • Osamu Nakagawasai,
  • Takayo Odaira-Satoh,
  • Lucas Veillon,
  • Takahiro Nitta,
  • Paul McJarrow,
  • Hirotaka Kanoh,
  • Kei-ichiro Inamori,
  • Koichi Tan-No,
  • Michael Collett

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2024.1387221
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18

Abstract

Read online

Ganglioside GM3 synthase is a key enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of gangliosides. GM3 synthase deficiency (GM3SD) causes an absence of GM3 and all downstream biosynthetic derivatives, including all the a-, b-, c-series gangliosides, commonly found in neural tissues. The affected individuals manifest with severe irritability, intractable seizures, hearing loss, blindness, and profound intellectual disability. It has been reported that oral ganglioside supplementation has achieved some significant improvements in clinical symptoms, growth parameters, and developmental and cognitive scores in GM3SD patients. To gain insight into the molecular mechanisms of this supplementation, we performed supplementation of oral bovine milk gangliosides to GM3 synthase-deficient mice from early weaning periods. The oral milk ganglioside preparations were dominated by GM3 and GD3 gangliosides. Oral milk ganglioside supplementation improved the decreased cognitive function observed in GM3 synthase-deficient mice. The improvement in cognitive function was accompanied by increased ganglioside levels and neurogenesis in the hippocampus in the supplemented animals.

Keywords