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Gangliosides as Receptor Modulators

1984; Springer Nature; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-1-4684-1200-0_32

2214-8019

E. Bremer, Sen‐itiroh Hakomori,

Galectins and Cancer Biology

A number of studies have postulated cell surface gangliosides to be receptors for various bioactive factors such as glycoprotein hormones,1–3 interferon,4–6 and bacterial toxins,7–9 based on the interaction of gangliosides with these bioactive factors or ganglioside modification of the cellular effect of these factors. These observations, however, do not necessarily prove or support the idea that gangliosides function as receptors for these factors. In fact, in most of these cases, the receptor has been subsequently characterized as a protein, and the binding to gangliosides is generally of much lower affinity and specificity. With the exception of cholera toxin binding to the oligosaccharide moiety of GM1,10 few examples of ganglioside receptors have been demonstrated. Our recent studies on the effect of gangliosides on cell growth have suggested that gangliosides may alter the binding of polypeptide growth factors to their receptors in an indirect way.