Creative Enzymes offers the most advanced chromatographic assay techniques to measure the enzymatic activity of ganglioside galactosyltransferase accurately. Our tests are backed by a skillful team of extraordinary enzymologists, who work together with our customers, mirroring the exact processes and developing customized methods through our ability to solve specific problems.

Ganglioside galactosyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.62) catalyzes the conversion of ganglioside GM2 to ganglioside GM1a. Ganglioside galactosyltransferase is a membrance-associated protein and is involved in the glycosphingolipid biosynthesis (ganglio series) and glycan structures biosynthesis 2 pathways. This enzyme belongs to the family of glycosyltransferases, specifically the hexosyltransferases.

A ganglioside is a molecule composed of a glycosphingolipid, a ceramide and an oligosaccharide, with one or more sialic acids (N-acetylneuraminate) linked on the sugar chain. Ganglioside is the component of the cell plasma membrane that modulates cell signal transduction events, and appears to concentrate in lipid rafts. Recently, gangliosides have been found to be highly important molecules in immunology. Natural and semisynthetic gangliosides are considered as possible therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders. GM1, the "prototype" ganglioside, is a member of the ganglioseries of gangliosides. It has critical physiological properties and impacts neuronal plasticity, neuronal repair mechanisms, and the release of neurotrophins in the brain. Besides, GM1 also serves as a therapeutic target for various neurodegenerative conditions, such as Parkinson's disease and acute spinal cord injury. GM2 is also a type of ganglioside and it is related to the diseases, such as Tay-Sachs disease, that are probably caused by GM2 gangliosidoses. Thus, ganglioside galactosyltransferase has been found more and more important for treatment and prevention of these diseases. Due to its special transferase activity, the enzyme is also being used in biocatalytic processes.

Figure 1: The structures of GM1, GM2, GM3 gangliosides.
Reference: Principles of Biochemistry, 3rd Edition, by Donald Voet, Judith Voet and Charlotte Pratt, p.253.

To investigate the functional significance of ganglioside galactosyltransferase, it is important to be able to monitor the activity of ganglioside galactosyltransferase. However, little research has been done to understand the mechanism and structure of the enzyme in the past few years. Properly measuring its activity is even more difficult without the above-mentioned information. To solve the challenge, Creative Enzymes initiated its own expert team and developed robust activity analysis to satisfy the customer’s request. Our high-quality enzyme assay services have helped thousands of customers, and many customers have been loyal to Creative Enzymes for many years.

Figure 2: The crystal structure of mouse ganglioside galactosyltransferase.
UniProt: Q9Z0F0