Role of GM3-enriched microdomains in signal transduction regulation in T lymphocytes

Gangliosides, sialic acid containing glycosphigolipids, are ubiquitous constituents of cell plasma membranes. Each cell type shows a peculiar ganglioside expression pattern. In human T lymphocytes monosialoganglioside GM3 represents the main ganglioside constituent of cell plasma membrane where it is concentrated in glycosphingolipid-enriched microdomains (GEM). The presence of tyrosine kinase receptors, mono- (Ras, Rap) and heterotrimeric G proteins, Src-like tyrosine kinases (lck, lyn, fyn), PKC isozymes, glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins and, after T cell activation, the Syk-family kinase Zap-70, prompts these portions of the plasma membrane to be considered as glycosignaling domains. In particular, during T cell activation and/or other dynamic functions of the cell, such as apoptosis, key signaling molecules are recruited to these microdomains, where they strictly interact with GM3. The association of transducer proteins with GM3 in microdomains suggests that this ganglioside is the main marker of GEM in human lymphocytes and is component of a cell plasma membrane multimolecular signaling complex involved in cell-cell interaction, signal transduction, and cell activation.