A Novel Method for the Production of Glycosphingolipids

Neolacto-series ganglioside sialylparagloboside (SPG) is a ganglioside species present in various human tissues, and used in many important studies. In this study, four ganglioside analogs, GM3, GD3, SPG, and NeuAc-Gal-GlcNAc-Gal-GlcNAc-Gal-Glc-Cer, were synthesized by the saccharide-primer method using MDCK cells and β-lactoside primer with different aglycons. As compared to former methods for producing SPG, the primer method was rapid and convenient. Moreover, the yield of SPG was much higher than that obtained by former methods. The production of gangliosides with an azido group in the aglycon moiety was also achieved by using MDCK cells.