Gangliosides are sialic acid-containing glycosphingolipids. Gangliosides are found in human milk; understanding of the potential role of gangliosides in infant development is emerging, with suggested roles in the brain and gut. Ganglioside accretion in the developing brain is highest in utero and in early neonatal life, during the periods of dendritic branching and new synapse formation. Further, brain contains the highest relative ganglioside content in the body, particularly in neuronal cell membranes concentrated in the area of the synaptic membrane. Gangliosides are known to play a role in neuronal growth, migration and maturation, neuritogenesis, synaptogenesis, and myelination. In addition to their roles in development and structure of the brain, gangliosides also play a functional role in nerve cell communication. It is less well known whether dietary gangliosides can influence the development of cognitive function. This review summarizes current knowledge on the role gangliosides play in brain development.
Seeds are the typical dispersal and propagation units of angiosperms and gymnosperms. Water movement into and out of seeds plays a crucial role from the point of fertilization through to imbibition and seed germination. A class of membrane intrinsic proteins called aquaporins (AQPs) assist with the movement of water and other solutes within seeds. These highly diverse and abundant proteins are associated with different processes in the development, longevity, imbibition, and germination of seed. However, there are many AQPs encoded in a plant’s genome and it is not yet clear how, when, or which AQPs are involved in critical stages of seed biology. Here we review the literature to examine the evidence for AQP involvement in seeds and analyse Arabidopsis seed-related transcriptomic data to assess which AQPs are likely to be important in seed water relations and explore additional roles for AQPs in seed biology.
Objectives: This study tested the hypothesis that supplementation with galactose before and during endurance exercise would spare carbohydrate (CHO), optimize fat utilization and improve performance compared with a typical sports drink formulation. Subjects: Nine well-trained cyclists undertook three trials, each consisting of 120 min at 65 VO 2max followed immediately by a set work, self-paced time trial (TT). Three treatments, allocated as a randomized balanced design, consisted of the following: (a) 8% (w/w) solution of galactose (Gal); (b) 8% solution of 50% galactose/50% glucose (Gluc/Gal); and (c) 8% solution of 80% glucose/20% fructose (Gluc/Fru). These were consumed as 0.67 g CHO per kg body wt 45-min pre-exercise; 1.0 g CHO per kg body wt per h for the first 120 min of exercise; 0.33 g CHO per kg body wt during the TT. Blood samples were collected before and during exercise; respiratory gas samples were collected only during fixed workload exercise. Results: Mean TT power output was significantly less in Gal compared with Gluc/Gal (P ¼ 0.030). Blood glucose and insulin concentrations were lower, and free fatty acids higher in Gal compared with Gluc/Gal and Gluc/Fru. Respiratory exchange ratio was not significantly different between trials. Conclusions: Ingestion of an 8% galactose-only solution (12.5 ml per kg body wt per h) is detrimental to endurance performance compared with equivalent volumes of iso-osmotic solutions containing 50% galactose/50% glucose or 80% glucose/20% fructose. This may reflect the inability of the liver to convert galactose into glucose at a rate required to support strenuous exercise intensity.
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