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Abstract #1960

Six Fucose-α(1−2) Sugars and α-Fucose Assigned in Human Brain using In Vivo L-COSY

Scott Gregory Quadrelli 1 , Alexander Lin 2 , Saadallah Ramadan 1 , and Carolyn Mountford 1,3

1 Centre for MR in Health, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia, 2 Center for Clinical Spectroscopy, Brigham & Womens Hospital - Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, 3 Center for Clinical Spectroscopy, Brigham & Womens Hospital - Harvard Medical School, Boston, NSW, Australia

A growing literature indicates that Fucose7α(1−2)7galactose sugars are implicated in the molecular mechanisms that underlie neuronal development, learning, and memory in the human brain. An understanding of the in-vivo roles played by these terminal fucose residues, has been hampered by lack of technology to non-invasively monitor their levels in the human brain. We have implemented the in-vivo two dimensional magnetic resonance spectroscopy technology to examine the human brain in a three Tesla clinical MR scanner and report that six Fucose-α(1−2)-galactose residues, and free alpha-fucose, are available for inspection. Fucose7α(1−3)-galactose residues cannot yet be assigned using this technology as they resonate under the water resonance. This new application offers an unprecedented insight into the molecular mechanisms by which fucosylated sugars contribute to neuronal processes and how they alter during development, ageing and disease.

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