{"id":27992,"date":"2025-11-07T14:41:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T21:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianglycomics.ca\/?p=27992"},"modified":"2025-11-07T14:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T21:41:09","slug":"researchers-uncover-how-brain-lipids-help-neurons-communicate-and-protect-themselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianglycomics.ca\/fr\/researchers-uncover-how-brain-lipids-help-neurons-communicate-and-protect-themselves\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers uncover how brain lipids help neurons communicate and protect themselves"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Researchers uncover how brain lipids help neurons communicate and protect themselves<\/h1>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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GlycoNet team at the University of Alberta builds on previous work to find a new direction for potential treatment of neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington\u2019s.<\/p>\n

By Gillian Rutherford\u00a0 \u2022\u00a0 Posted: 5 November,\u00a0 2025<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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(From left) U of A researchers Elena Posse de Chaves, John Monyror and Simonetta Sipione are part of a team that discovered a link between low levels of brain molecules called gangliosides and symptoms of Huntington\u2019s disease, offering a new direction for potential treatment. (Photo: Supplied)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A University of Alberta research team has discovered a new function for brain molecules known as gangliosides, offering potential new targets for the treatment of Huntington\u2019s and other genetic neurological diseases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In\u00a0their paper published in\u00a0Science Advances<\/em><\/a>, the team shows that gangliosides are key to the formation and release of extracellular vesicles, tiny particles that are responsible for both cell communication and cell waste disposal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur recent study has uncovered a quite unexpected role for these fascinating molecules that are half fat and half sugar,\u201d says principal investigator\u00a0Simonetta Sipione<\/a>, professor of\u00a0pharmacology<\/a>\u00a0and a member of the\u00a0Canadian Glycomics Network,<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute<\/a>\u00a0et le\u00a0Glycomics Institute of Alberta<\/a>. \u201cThis is something that contributes to disease pathogenesis and can be a target for therapeutic intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier research by Sipione\u2019s lab<\/a>\u00a0already showed that low levels of gangliosides were associated with Huntington\u2019s symptoms, but they weren\u2019t quite sure what role the molecules played in the disease. The team had also found that by restoring one particular ganglioside called GM1, they could reverse Huntington\u2019s symptoms in mice.<\/p>\n

One in every 7,000 Canadians has Huntington\u2019s, a genetic brain disorder with physical, mental and emotional symptoms, according to the\u00a0Brain Canada Foundation<\/a>. It occurs when\u00a0mutant huntingtin protein<\/a>\u00a0misfolds and clumps inside brain cells, causing them to malfunction and eventually die.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we know that when gangliosides are low \u2014 not just in Huntington\u2019s disease but also in Parkinson\u2019s and in other hereditary neurodegenerative diseases \u2014 the vesicle-mediated cell communication and clearance system doesn\u2019t work properly,\u201d says Sipione. \u201cThis allows harmful proteins such as mutant huntingtin to accumulate and thus contributes to the processes that drive neurodegeneration.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sipione will continue research to fully understand the underlying mechanisms of gangliosides to determine their clinical potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still working to understand the full picture of how gangliosides protect the brain and how they might be used as restorative therapies in neurodegenerative diseases,\u201d says Sipione, who is collaborating with a biotech company to explore the possibility of future clinical trials. While gangliosides can be synthesized or extracted from the brains of other animals that have been used for meat consumption, and they have been used as therapeutic agents for other conditions, they are not approved for use in North America.<\/p>\n

One hurdle is that when gangliosides are injected into the blood, very little makes it into the brain because of a protective feature known as the\u00a0blood-brain barrier<\/a>. It is still uncertain whether this limited amount is sufficient to have therapeutic effects. Sipione says alternative delivery methods such as nanoparticles, a nasal spray or a spinal injection might be needed to ensure effective delivery to the brain.<\/p>\n

Sipione credits \u201coutstanding\u201d graduate students and first authors\u00a0John Monyror<\/a>\u00a0et \u00e0\u00a0Vaibhavi Kadam<\/a>\u00a0for their experimental work, as well as the collaboration of pharmacology professor and co-corresponding author\u00a0Elena Posse de Chaves<\/a>\u00a0and colleagues in the\u00a0Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some of this research was carried out at the U of A\u2019s\u00a0Flow Cytometry Facility<\/a>. It was funded by the\u00a0Canadian Institutes of Health Research<\/a>, the\u00a0R\u00e9seau Canadien de la Glycomique<\/a>, the\u00a0Brain Canada Foundation<\/a>, the\u00a0Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada<\/a>, the\u00a0Huntington Society of Canada<\/a>\u00a0et le\u00a0Alberta Prion Research Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the commitment of these partner funding agencies to fundamental neuroscience research that makes discoveries like this, with the potential to one day translate into new treatments, possible,\u201d Sipione says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reposted from\u00a0<\/em>Folio<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Plus de nouvelles de GlycoNet<\/a><\/h6>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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GlycoNet team at the University of Alberta builds on previous work to find a new direction for potential treatment of neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington\u2019s.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":27993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[203],"tags":[15,7,369,220,295,101],"class_list":["post-27992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-highlight","tag-glycomics","tag-glyconet","tag-huntingtons-disease","tag-parkinsons-disease","tag-simonetta-sipione","tag-university-of-alberta","wpbf-post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t