Ganglioside GM1 (GM1) has been reported to functionally recover degenerated nervous system in vitro and in vivo, but the possibility to translate GM1 s potential in clinical settings is counteracted by its low ability to overcome the blood-brain barrier (BBB) due to its amphiphilic nature. Interestingly, the soluble and hydrophilic GM1-oligosaccharide (OligoGM1) is able to punctually replace GM1 neurotrophic functions alone, both in vitro and in vivo. In order to take advantage of OligoGM1 properties, which overcome GM1 s pharmacological limitations, here we characterize the OligoGM1 brain transport by using a human in vitro BBB model. OligoGM1 showed a 20-fold higher crossing rate than GM1 and time-concentration-dependent transport. Additionally, OligoGM1 crossed the barrier at 4 • C and in inverse transport experiments, allowing consideration of the passive paracellular route. This was confirmed by the exclusion of a direct interaction with the active ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters using the "pump out" system. Finally, after barrier crossing, OligoGM1 remained intact and able to induce Neuro2a cell neuritogenesis by activating the TrkA pathway. Importantly, these in vitro data demonstrated that OligoGM1, lacking the hydrophobic ceramide, can advantageously cross the BBB in comparison with GM1, while maintaining its neuroproperties. This study has improved the knowledge about OligoGM1 s pharmacological potential, offering a tangible therapeutic strategy.However, transferring the GM1 neuronal potential from the preclinical models to the clinic depends on its ability to reach the brain structures when administered peripherally. This last aspect is actually severely limited by GM1 s amphiphilicity, which hampers the passage across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) [2,7,8]. This barrier is located at the brain microvessel level and strongly restricts the entry of cells and xenobiotics into the CNS. The BBB anatomical support is the specialized brain endothelial cells of these vessels. These cells do not show any fenestrations and are specifically characterized by the presence of tight junctions (TJ), composed of junctional proteins and TJ-associated proteins. Additionally, these cells express several proteins belonging to the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters family, which act as efflux pumps and play an important role by limiting BBB crossing of several drugs and biological molecules [9,10]. The major efflux pumps expressed at the BBB are P-glycoprotein (P-gp, aka ABCB1), breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP, aka ABCG2), and the multidrug-resistance-associated proteins (MRPs, aka ABCCs).Importantly, the fate of peripherally administered GM1 observed in the rodent models has not been determined in humans, as often the two species display different BBB permeability rates for the same molecule [7,8]. One of the possible explanations for these discrepancies is the species difference recently reported between rodents and human for the expression of several receptors and transporters expressed in the BBB, in...