International Journal of Molecular Sciences Review GM2 Gangliosidoses: Clinical Features, Pathophysiological Aspects, and Current Therapies Andrés Felipe Leal 1 , Eliana Benincore-Flórez 1, Daniela Solano-Galarza 1, Rafael Guillermo Garzón Jaramillo 1 , Olga Yaneth Echeverri-Peña 1, Diego A. Suarez 1,2, Carlos Javier Alméciga-Díaz 1,* and Angela Johana Espejo-Mojica 1,* 1 Institute for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism, Faculty of Science, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá 110231, Colombia;
[email protected] (A.F.L.);
[email protected] (E.B.-F.);
[email protected] (D.S.-G.);
[email protected] (R.G.G.J.);
[email protected] (O.Y.E.-P.);
[email protected] (D.A.S.) 2 Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá 110231, Colombia * Correspondence:
[email protected] (C.J.A.-D.);
[email protected] (A.J.E.-M.); Tel.: +57-1-3208320 (ext. 4140) (C.J.A.-D.); +57-1-3208320 (ext. 4099) (A.J.E.-M.) Received: 6 July 2020; Accepted: 7 August 2020; Published: 27 August 2020 Abstract: GM2 gangliosidoses are a group of pathologies characterized by GM2 ganglioside accumulation into the lysosome due to mutations on the genes encoding for the β-hexosaminidases subunits or the GM2 activator protein. Three GM2 gangliosidoses have been described: Tay–Sachs disease, Sandhoff disease, and the AB variant. Central nervous system dysfunction is the main characteristic of GM2 gangliosidoses patients that include neurodevelopment alterations, neuroinflammation, and neuronal apoptosis. Currently, there is not approved therapy for GM2 gangliosidoses, but different therapeutic strategies have been studied including hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, enzyme replacement therapy, substrate reduction therapy, pharmacological chaperones, and gene therapy.