α2-3-sialylated glycosphingolipids in neuroinflammation, immunity, and programmed cell death: mechanistic evidence and context-dependent regulation: a comprehensive review.

Research overview

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α2-3-sialylated glycosphingolipids (α2-3-GSLs) are major constituents of neuronal membranes and lipid rafts, where they shape receptor compartmentalization, signal-complex assembly, and cell-cell communication. Their biological effects, however, vary by molecular subtype, cell type, disease stage, concentration, and local microenvironment. This review synthesizes evidence on spatiotemporal alterations in α2-3-GSL profiles and their relationships to neuroinflammation, immune responses, proteostasis, and programmed cell death across Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Particular attention is given to GM1, GD1a, and GD3 and to mechanisms involving TLR4/NF-κB, PI3K/AKT, autophagy-lysosomal function, complement, damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) recognition, and death-receptor signaling. Evidence is stratified into relatively well-supported, model-specific or incomplete, and conceptually inferred mechanisms. On this basis, we propose a lipid-inflammation-immunity-cell death framework that organizes potentially shared downstream processes while explicitly retaining disease-specific differences. This framework is not a validated universal causal pathway; rather, it provides an analytical structure for identifying evidence gaps and testable hypotheses. Disease-specific and parallel cross-disease studies, coupled with spatial lipidomics, in vivo tracing, and subtype-selective interventions, will be required to determine when α2-3-GSL manipulation is protective, neutral, or harmful and to support rational clinical translation.

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