Biological Function of Gangliosides

List of contributors. Preface. Designation of schematic structure of gangliosides and allied glycosphingolipids. 1. Molecular basis of cell adhesion (Plenary lecture) (Gerald Edelman). Section I - Structure and metabolism of gangliosides. 2. Ganglioside metabolism: enzymology, topology and regulation. 3. Developmental regulation of ganglioside metabolism. 4. New mass spectral approaches to ganglioside structure determinations. 5. Principles of glycosphingolipid-oligosaccharide constitution. Section II - Gangliosides in neuronal differentiation and development. 6. Ganglioside turnover and neural cells function: a new perspective. 7. Gangliosides as modulators of neuronal calcium. 8. Cell adhesion molecule (NCAM and N-cadherin) dependent neurite outgrowth is modulated by gangliosides. 9. Significance of ganglioside-mediated glycosignal transduction in neuronal differentiation and development. 10. Ca2+-ganglioside-interactions in neuronal differentiation and development. Section III - Receptor and cell surface activities of gangliosides. 11. A GM1-ganglioside-binding protein in rat brain. 12. Receptors for cholera toxin and Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin revisited. 13. Carbohydrate ligands of leukocyte adhesion molecules and their therapeutic potential. 14. Receptors for gangliosides and related glycosphingolipids on central and peripheral nervous system cell membranes. Section IV - Gangliosides and cancer. 15. Potential of genetically engineered anti-ganglioside GD2 antibodies for cancer immunotherapy. 16. Ganglioside phenotype of human gliomas in vivo and in vitro. 17. Gangliosides associated with primary brain tumors and their expression in cell lines established from these tumors. 18. Role of gangliosides in tumor progression. 19. Tumor gangliosides as targets for active specific immunotherapy of melanoma in man. Section V - Gangliosides and peripheral neuropathies. 20. Gangliosides and peripheral neuropathies: an overview. 21. The structure of human anti-ganglioside antibodies. 22. Antibodies to glycoconjugates in neuropathy and motor neuron disease. 23. Gangliosides and related glycoconjugates in myelin: relationship to peripheral neuropathies. 24. Antiglycolipid antibodies and peripheral neuropathies: link to pathogenesis. Section VI - Gangliosides and functional recovery of injured nervous system. 25. CNS pharmacology of gangliosides. 26. Cooperative effects of gangliosides on trophic factor-induced neuronal cell recovery and synaptogenesis. 27. Gangliosides in the protection against glutamate excitotoxicity. 28. Clinical approaches to dementia. 29. Neuropathological changes in Alzheimer disease. 30. Ganglioside loss is a primary event in Alzheimer's disease Type 1. Subject index.