Effect of Brain Ganglioside on the Heart of the Clam

Abstract

A PURIFIED preparation of brain ganglioside, a macromolecular glycolipid the structure of which has been recently considerably clarified¹, has been shown to inhibit in low concentration the viral hæmagglutination reaction² and to inhibit in the same concentrations the neurotoxic effect in mouse brain of influenza PR8 and NWS viruses³. The consideration of the possible membrane and transport role that brain ganglioside might have in the central nervous system has led to the investigation of the effect of this substance upon the heart of Venus mercenaria (clam), an organ which had been used in the bioassay of acetyl choline, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and other substances with known or suspected neurohumoral function^4,5.