The chemokine receptor, CCR5, is used as a human immunodeficiency virus coreceptor in combination with CD4 during transmission and early infection. CCR5 has been shown to be palmitoylated and targeted to cholesterol- and sphingolipid-rich membrane microdomains termed "lipid rafts." However, the role of cholesterol and lipid rafts on chemokine binding and signaling through CCR5 remains unknown. ...

The chemokine receptor, CCR5, is used as a human immunodeficiency virus coreceptor in combination with CD4 during transmission and early infection. CCR5 has been shown to be palmitoylated and targeted to cholesteroland sphingolipidrich membrane microdomains termed “lipid rafts.” However, the role of cholesterol and lipid rafts on chemokine binding and signaling through CCR5 remains unknown. We ...

Cancer vaccines aim to efficiently prime cytotoxic CD8+ T cell responses which can be achieved by vaccine targeting dendritic cells. CD169+ macrophages have been shown transfer antigen cells and could act as an alternative target for cancer vaccines. Here, we evaluated liposomes containing the CD169/Siglec-1 binding ligand, ganglioside GM3, non-binding GM1, their capacity antigens induce immune...

PURPOSE To investigate whether the signaling events occurring in Fas-mediated apoptosis alter raft membrane formation in human RPE cells. METHODS Formation of lipid rafts in cultured human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19) was studied by confocal microscopy, with fluorescein-labeled cholera toxin subunit B binding protein (BODIPY)-labeled ganglioside GM1 lipid after Fas-L induction o...

Escherichia coli producing heat-labile enterotoxin is responsible for numerous cases of diarrhea worldwide, leading to considerable morbidity and mortality. The B subunits of this toxin are responsible for the binding to the receptor, the complex ganglioside GM1 which has galactose as its terminal sugar. In this study we showed that analogs of galactose (gal) and N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) ...

Melioidosis is the term given to any infection caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei. This bacteria is one of the important causative agents of life-threatening pulmonary infections in the tropical and subtropical areas. The initiation of respiratory infections is attachment of this bacteria to pharyngeal cells. The precise mechanism of attachment of B. pseudomallei is not known. In this study, w...

Intestinal epithelial lipid rafts contain ganglioside GM1 that is the receptor for cholera toxin (CT). The ganglioside binds CT at the plasma membrane (PM) and carries the toxin through the trans-Golgi network (TGN) to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In the ER, a portion of the toxin unfolds and translocates to the cytosol to activate adenylyl cyclase. Activation of the cyclase leads to an incr...

Choleragen and its A protomer catalyzed the hydrolysis of NAD to ADP-ribose and nicotinamide. NADase activity was inhibited by gangliosides GM1 (galactosyl-N-acetylgalactosaminyl-[N-acetylneuraminyl]-galactosylglucosylceramide), GM2 (N-acetylgalactosaminyl-[N-acetylneuraminyl]-galactosylglucosylceramide), GM3 (N-acetylneuraminyl-galactosylglucosylceramide), and GD1a (N-acetylneuraminylgalactosy...

Vibrio cholerae is one of the major bacterial pathogens responsible for the devastating diarrheal disease called cholera. Chemotherapy is often used against V. cholerae infections; however, the emergence of V. cholerae with multidrug resistance (MDR) toward the chemotherapeutic agents is a serious clinical problem. This scenario has provided us with the impetus to look into herbal remediation, ...

Bacterial magnetosomes, because of their nano-scale size, have a large surface-to-volume ratio and are able to carry large quantities of bioactive substances such as enzymes, antibodies, and genes. Gangliosides, a family of sialic acid-containing glycosphingolipids, function as distinctive cell surface markers and as specific determinants in cellular recognition and cell-to-cell communication. ...