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Comparative Analysis of Brain Lipids in Mice, Cats, and Humans with Sandhoff Disease

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Lipids

Abstract

Sandhoff disease (SD) is a glycosphingolipid (GSL) storage disease that arises from an autosomal recessive mutation in the gene for the β-subunit of β-Hexosaminidase A (Hexb gene), which catabolizes ganglioside GM2 within lysosomes. Accumulation of GM2 and asialo-GM2 (GA2) occurs primarily in the CNS, leading to neurodegeneration and brain dysfunction. We analyzed the total lipids in the brains of SD mice, cats, and humans. GM2 and GA2 were mostly undetectable in the normal mouse, cat, and human brain. The lipid abnormalities in the SD cat brain were generally intermediate to those observed in the SD mouse and the SD human brains. GM2 comprised 38, 67, and 87% of the total brain ganglioside distribution in the SD mice, cats, and humans, respectively. The ratio of GA2–GM2 was 0.93, 0.13, and 0.27 in the SD mice, cats, and humans, respectively, suggesting that the relative storage of GA2 is greater in the SD mouse than in the SD cat or human. Finally, the myelin-enriched lipids, cerebrosides and sulfatides, were significantly lower in the SD brains than in the control brains. This study is the first comparative analysis of brain lipids in mice, cats, and humans with SD and will be important for designing therapies for Sandhoff disease patients.

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Abbreviations

CHCl3 :

Chloroform

CNS:

Central nervous system

GA2:

Asialo-GM2

GSL:

Glycosphingolipid

HexA:

β-Hexosaminidase A

HPTLC:

High-performance thin-layer chromatograph

MeOH:

Methanol

SD:

Sandhoff disease

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the NICHD Brain and Tissue Bank for Developmental Disorders at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (NICHD contract # N01-HD-4-3368 and N01-HD-4-3383) for the human tissue samples. This work was supported in part from NIH grant (NS055195), the National Tay-Sachs and Allied Disease Association, and from the Lysosomal Storage Disease Research Consortium.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, USA

    Rena C. Baek & Thomas N. Seyfried

  2. Scott-Ritchey Research Center and Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA

    Douglas R. Martin & Nancy R. Cox

Authors
  1. Rena C. Baek
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  2. Douglas R. Martin
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  3. Nancy R. Cox
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  4. Thomas N. Seyfried
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Correspondence to Thomas N. Seyfried.

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Baek, R.C., Martin, D.R., Cox, N.R. et al. Comparative Analysis of Brain Lipids in Mice, Cats, and Humans with Sandhoff Disease. Lipids 44, 197–205 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-008-3268-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-008-3268-0

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