Affiliations: Department of Ophthalmology, Veterans
Administration and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
USA | AG Mol. & Cellular Neurobiology, Institute of Medical
Psychology, Otto von Guericke University and Department of Neurochemistry/
Molecular Biology, Leibniz-Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg,
Germany | Division of Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric
Institute and College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New
York, NY 10032 USA
Abstract: Injury of the nervous system initiates a cascade of signal transduction
including a rise in extracellular glutamate which leads to subsequent secondary
neuronal loss. Excitotoxicity is known to play a crucial role in cell death
spinal cord trauma. Gangliosides, particularly monosialogangliosides (GM1), are
protective against various neurological insults, including excitotoxicity.
Gangliosides may improve outcome following human spinal cord injury in humans.
To further explore the relationship between excitotoxicity and GM1, dissociated
murine spinal cord preparations were exposed to glutamate (0.5 mM) with the
subsequent administration of GM1 (80 µM) at 8 and 13 days in culture. The
addition of GM1 30 minutes after exposure to glumatate significantly reduced
neuronal damage and preserved membrane structure and integrity. These results
demonstrate that post-treatment with GM1 gangliosides after glutamate-induced
excitotoxicity is effective in protecting spinal cord neurons.
Keywords: ganglioside, glutamate, spinal cord, in vitro, LDH, immunohistochemistry
