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Gangliosides are glycosphingolipids consisting of a ceramide base and a bulky sugar chain that contains one or more sialic acids. This unique structure endows gangliosides with a strong tendency to self‐aggregate in solution, as well as in cellular membranes, where they can form nanoscopic assemblies called ganglioside nanodomains. As gangliosides are important biological molecules involved in a number of physiological processes, characterization of their lateral organization in membranes is essential. This review aims at providing comprehensive information about the nanoscale organization of gangliosides in various synthetic models. To this end, the impact of the hydrophobic backbone and the headgroup on the segregation of gangliosides into nanodomains are discussed in detail, as well as the way in which the properties of nanodomains are affected by ligand binding. Small size makes the characterization of ganglioside nanodomains challenging, and we thus highlight the biophysical methods that have advanced this research, such as Monte Carlo Förster resonance energy transfer, atomic force microscopy and approaches based on molecular diffusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on the structure and dynamics of interfacial water, emphasizing on the properties of water near the surface of biomolecules, are well reported, but there is a lack of evidence on the behavior of water near a comparatively rough surface containing molecules with a bulky head group like GM1. In this report we comparatively analyze the structure and dynamics of water as a function of distance from the lipid head group in GM1 containing lipid bilayers, with the lipid bilayers where GM1 is not present. This approach effectively demonstrates the behavioral difference and hence delayed convergence from bound water to bulk water in the presence of GM1 compared to a relatively smooth surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive dementia associated with loss of memory and cognitive dysfunction. In a previous study, we demonstrated a decrease in b-series gangliosides along with a change in ganglioside molecular species in the hippocampal grey matter of patients with AD. The present study demonstrates the use of imaging mass spectrometry for analyzing the spatial arrangement of ganglioside GM1 (GM1) molecular species in the hippocampus. In AD patients, we found a decrease in the ratio of GM1(d20:1/C18:0) to GM1 d18:1/C18:0) in the outer molecular layer (ML) of the dentate gyrus. Because the outer ML is the region of main input into the hippocampus, our findings may have a direct relationship to the mechanism of dysfunction in AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Co-localization of GM1 with Aβ1–42 and amylin aggregates supported by in situ PLA. [•] Tracking of single GM1 reveals interaction with Aβ oligomers and amylin aggregates. [•] Amyloid aggregates interact generically with GM1 and decrease its mobility. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]