Glial Sulfatides and Neuronal Complex Gangliosides Are Functionally Interdependent in Maintaining Myelinating Axon Integrity

Sulfatides and gangliosides are raft-associated glycolipids essential for maintaining myelinated nerve integrity. Mice deficient in sulfatide (cerebroside sulfotransferase knock-out, CST-/-) or complex gangliosides (beta-1,4-N-acetylegalactosaminyltransferasel knock- out, GalNAc-T-/-) display prominent disorganization of proteins at the node of Ranvier (NoR) in early life and age-dependent neurodegeneration. Loss of neuronal rather than glial complex gangliosides underpins the GalNAc-T-/- phenotype, as shown by neuron- or glial-specific rescue, whereas sulfatide is principally expressed and functional in glial membranes. The similarities in NoR phenotype of CST-/-, GalNAc-T-/-, and axo- glial protein-deficient mice suggests that these glycolipids stabilize membrane proteins including neurofascin155 (NF155) and myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) at axo- glial junctions. To assess the functional interactions between sulfatide and gangliosides, CST-/- and GalNAc-T-/- genotypes were interbred. CST-/- X Ga/NAc-T-/- mice develop normally to postnatal day 10 (P10), but all die between P20 and P25, coinciding with peak myelination. Ultrastructural, immunohistological, and biochemical analysis of either sex revealed widespread axonal degeneration and disruption to the axo- glial junction at the NoR. In addition to sulfatide-dependent loss of NF155, CST-/- X GalNAc-T-/- mice exhibited a major reduction in MAG protein levels in CNS myelin compared with WT and single-lipid-deficient mice. The CST-/- X GalNAc-T-/- phenotype was fully restored to that of CST-/- mice by neuron-specific expression of complex gangliosides, but not by their glial-specific expression nor by the global expression of a-series gangliosides. These data indicate that sulfatide and complex b-series gangliosides on the glial and neuronal membranes, respectively, act in concert to promote NF155 and MAG in maintaining the stable axo-glial interactions essential for normal nerve function.