Influence of Brain Gangliosides on the Formation and Properties of Supported Lipid Bilayers

This is a comprehensive study of the effects of the four major brain gangliosides (GM1, GD1b, GD1a, and GT1b) on the adsorption and rupture of phospholipid vesicles on SiO2 surfaces for the formation of supported lipid bilayer (SLB) membranes. Using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) we show that gangliosides GD1a and GT1b significantly slow the SLB formation process, whereas GM1 and GD1b have smaller effects. This is likely due to the net ganglioside charge as well as the positions of acidic sugar groups on ganglioside glycan head groups. Data is included that shows calcium can accelerate the formation of ganglioside-rich SLBs. Using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) we also show that the presence of gangliosides significantly reduces lipid diffusion coefficients in SLBs in a concentration-dependent manner. Finally, using QCM-D and GD1a-rich SLB membranes we measure the binding kinetics of an anti-GD1a antibody that has similarities to a monoclonal antibody that is a hallmark of a variant of Guillain-Barre syndrome.