In the past decade, there have been tremendous developments in the understanding of the structure, biosynthesis, and function of glycoconjugates present in the nervous system. These developments were initiated by advances in the molecular cloning of glycosyltransferases that direct the synthesis of these complex carbohydrates. In particular, the molecular cloning of polysialyltransferases, HNK-1 sulfotransferase, ganglioside sialyltransferases, and proteoglycan sulfotransferases provided a great opportunity to determine the roles of these glycans in the nervous system. Moreover, the availabili ... More

In the past decade, there have been tremendous developments in the understanding of the structure, biosynthesis, and function of glycoconjugates present in the nervous system. These developments were initiated by advances in the molecular cloning of glycosyltransferases that direct the synthesis of these complex carbohydrates. In particular, the molecular cloning of polysialyltransferases, HNK-1 sulfotransferase, ganglioside sialyltransferases, and proteoglycan sulfotransferases provided a great opportunity to determine the roles of these glycans in the nervous system. Moreover, the availability of gene inactivation by homologous recombination in mouse, the ‘knockout mouse’, has led to an explosion of knowledge in understanding the physiological functions of glycoconjugates during embryonic development and organogenesis. In certain studies, the physiological function of glycoconjugates in adult mice can be evaluated in depth by examining the phenotype of adult knockout mice. This book focuses on topics in and expands descriptions of neuroglycobiology, based on recent advances in this field. The book includes eight chapters from various authors representing the field of neuroglycobiology. In the first two chapters, the biosynthesis and roles of glycoprotein glycosylation are described. Chapter 3 describes HNK-1 glycans. Chapter 4 describes the biosynthesis and roles of the brain glycolipids. The biosynthetic pathway and the roles of gangliosides based on gene knockout mice are described in Chapter 5. The final two chapters are devoted to summarizing recent findings on diseases caused by abnormal metabolism in glycoproteins and glycolipids.