N-glycolyl-Ganglioside GM3(NeuGc-GM3) is a form of ganglioside GM3 that contains an N-glycolylated sialic acid (NeuGc).
It is not biosynthesized in humans under baseline conditions due to a mutation in CMP-Neu5Ac hydroxylase (CMAH), which converts N-acetyl sialic acid to N-glycolyl sialic acid, but NeuGc can be taken up by human cellsviathe diet and incorporated into glycolipids, such as ganglioside GM3.1,2NeuGc-GM3 impairs differentiation and maturation of dendritic cellsin vitroand reduces CD4 expression in non-activated T cells.1,3It increases the number of lung tumor nodules formed in a murine Lewis lung carcinoma model.4It is found in a variety of human cancers, including breast and lung cancers, as well as pediatric cancers.1Levels of NeuGc-GM3 are negatively correlated with the number of mature dendritic cells in patient-derived non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor tissue.5Anti-NeuGc-GM3 antibodies, able to destroy tumor cells in vitro, have been found in individuals without cancer but not in patients with NSCLC.1,6N-glycolyl-Ganglioside GM3mixture contains ganglioside GM3molecular species with primarily C22:0, C23:0, and C24:0 fatty acyl chain lengths.