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. 2012 Apr 20;7(4):e35457. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035457

Figure 1. Carbohydrate determinants of gangliosides commonly found in the central nervous system and cancer cells.

Figure 1

CNS gangliosides: A. GT1b. B. GD1a. C. GD1b. D. GM1. Cancer-related gangliosides: E. GD2. F. GD3. G. GM3. H. Neu5Gc-GM3. Since each structure is differentiated by the removal of one or more residues from GT1b, the glycosidic linkages specified on GT1b apply to all of the structures, including Neu5Gc-GM3. Carbohydrate symbols follow the nomenclature of the Consortium for Functional Glycomics [63]: N-acetylneuraminic acid – purple diamond; galactose – yellow circle; N-acetylgalactosamine – yellow square; glucose – blue circle; N-glycolylneuraminic acid – light blue diamond.