GENERATION OF A MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY SPECIFIC FOR A NEW CLASS OF MINORGANGLIOSIDE ANTIGENS, GQ1B-ALPHA AND GT1A-ALPHA - ITS BINDING TO DORSAL AND LATERAL HORN OF HUMAN THORACIC CORD

We have established a monoclonal antibody, GGR41, specific for a new c lass of minor gangliosides, such as GQ1balpha and GT1aalpha, by immuni zing mice with a GQ1b-rich ganglioside fraction extracted from bovine brain. Each of those minor gangliosides has been reported to be one of the cholinergic-specific gangliosides (Chol-1). Careful examination o f binding specificity of the antibody by both an enzyme-linked immunos orbent assay and immunostaining on thin-layer chromatograms showed tha t the antibody recognizes three sialyl residues separately attaching t o the gangliotetraosyl backbone structure. Immunohistochemical analysi s revealed that GGR41 immunostained lamina I and III of dorsal horn an d lateral horn of human thoracic cord but motor neurons were not immun ostained. Except for negative staining of motor neurons, this distribu tion is similar to the distribution pattern of staining as reported in rats and humans using a polyclonal antibody against Chol-1. Thus, the antibody obtained in this study should be a useful reagent to study t he function of a unique new class of the minor gangliosides.