Ganglioside GM2 (d18:1/26:1(17Z)) is a glycosphingolipid (ceramide and oligosaccharide)or oligoglycosylceramide with one or more sialic acids (i.e. n-acetylneuraminic acid) linked on the sugar chain. It is a component the cell plasma membrane which modulates cell signal transduction events. Gangliosides have been found to be highly important in immunology. Ganglioside GM2 carries a net-negative charge at pH 7.0 and is acidic. Gangliosides can amount to 6% of the weight of lipids from brain, but they are found at low levels in all animal tissues. G(M2) Ganglioside accumulates due to a deficiency of hexosaminidase A or B (beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase), or GM2 activator protein, resulting in Gangliosidoses. Gangliosidoses include heredity metabolic disorders that include Tay-Sachs disease and Sandhoff disease. Gangliosides GM2 is especially common in the nervous tissue of the brain. In the United States, about 1 in 27 to 1 in 30 Ashkenazi Jews is a recessive carrier. French Canadians and the Cajun community of Louisiana have an occurrence similar to the Ashkenazi Jews.Gangliosides are glycosphingolipids. There are four types of glycosphingolipids, the cerebrosides, sulfatides, globosides and gangliosides. Gangliosides are very similar to globosides except that they also contain N-acetyl neuraminic acid (NANA) in varying amounts. The specific names for the gangliosides provide information about their structure. The letter G refers to ganglioside, and the subscripts M, D, T and Q indicate that the molecule contains mono-, di-, tri and quatra-sialic acid. The numbered subscripts 1, 2 and 3 refer to the carbohydrate sequence that is attached to the ceramide. In particular, 1 stands for GalGalNAcGalGlc-ceramide, 2 stands for GalNAcGalGlc-ceramide and 3 stands for GalGlc-ceramide. Deficiencies in lysosomal enzymes that degrade the carbohydrate portions of various gangliosides are responsible for a number of lysosomal storage diseases such as Tay-Sachs disease, Sandhoff disease, and GM1 gangliosidosis. The carbohydrate portion of the ganglioside GM1 is the site of attachment of cholera toxin, the protein secreted by Vibrio cholerae.