Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

Educational Lecture 7

Glycobiology and neurological disorders

Tatsuro Mutoh, M.D., Ph.D.

Department of Neurology, Fujita Health Unviersity School of Medicine

Many researchers now recognize the importance of glycobiological research achievements. Glycosidecontaining substances such as proteins (glycoproteins) and lipids (glycosphingolipids) have been involved in many important and essential events for normal life. The production of glycoside residues of the proteins is only partially regulated by the genes. In this talk, I will make a brief description of what glycobiology can influence the future of neurological research arena and how glycoproteins and glycolipids affect the normal biology of the neurons. Furthermore, I will introduce you some evidences that many neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and immune-mediated encephalitis have special relationships with glycobiological abnormalities. I also explain the structures and functions of lipid rafts, caveolae, and glycosynapse and their roles in the intracellular signal transduction and cell motility.
Full Text of this Article in Japanese PDF (446K)

(CLINICA NEUROL, 51: 849|852, 2011)
key words: lipid rafts, neurotrophin, Trk-neurotrophin receptor, signal transduction, Guillain-Barre syndrome

(Received: 19-May-11)