ganglioside gm-2 asialo mixture

Ganglioside GM2 asialo (asialo- GM2) is a glycosphingolipid containing three monosaccharide residues and a fatty acid of variable chain length but lacking the sialic acid residue present on ganglioside M2. Asialo-GM2 levels are low-to-undetectable in normal human brain, but it accumulates in the brain of patients with Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff disease, which are neurodegenerative disorders characterized by deficiency of lysosomal β-hexosaminidase A and B, respectively. It also binds to various bacteria, including Pseudomonas isolates derived from cystic fibrosis patients. Asialo-GM2 mixture contains ganglioside GM2 asialo molecular species with fatty acyl chains of variable lengths.