Sialic acids as regulators of molecular and cellular interactions

By R. Schauer. Current Opinion in Structural Biology, 2009

671 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The wide occurrence of sialic acids (Sia) in various chemical forms linked as monomers or polymers in an outstanding position in a multitude of complex carbohydrates of animals and microorganisms renders them as most versatile function modulators in cell biology and pathology. A survey is presented of recent advances in the study of the influences that Sias have as bulky hydrophilic and electronegatively charged monosaccharides on animal cells and on their interaction with microorganisms. Some highlights are: sialylation leads to increased anti-inflammatory activity of IgG antibodies, facilitates the escape of microorganisms from the host's immune system, and in polymeric form is involved in the regulation of embryogenesis and neuronal growth and function. The role of siglecs in immunoregulation, the dynamics of lymphocyte binding to selectins and the interactions of toxins, viruses, and other microorganisms with the host's Sia are now better understood. N-Glycolylneuraminic acid from food is antigenic in man and seems to have pathogenic potential. Sia O-acetylation mediated by various eukaryotic and prokaryotic O-acetyltransferases modulates the affinity of these monosaccharides to mammalian and microbial receptors and hinders apoptosis. The functionally versatile O-acetylated ganglioside GD3 is an onco-fetal antigen.

Subfields: Immunology, Molecular Biology, Organic Chemistry

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/77fb238384edfcc17e60d259933cc7587f720dfe

How researchers see this paper

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In Immunology

1. A. Varki
2. Ronald J. Copeland
3. Gerald W. Hart

In Molecular Biology

1. A. Varki
2. R. Schnaar
3. R. Gerardy-Schahn
4. H. Hildebrandt
5. Ronald J. Copeland
6. Gerald W. Hart
7. R. Schauer

In Organic Chemistry

1. A. Varki
2. Ronald J. Copeland
3. Gerald W. Hart

Citations in the corpus

• Sialic acids in the brain: gangliosides and polysialic acid in nervous system development, stability, disease, and regeneration. (2014, background): “Sialic acids (Sia) are nine-carbon backbone sugars bearing chemical moieties well suited for their functions at the cell surface (77, 413) (FIGURE 2).”
• Glycomics hits the big time. (2010, positive): “When structural diversity of the additional oligosaccharide branches of glycans and the added diversity of complex terminal saccharides on glycans, such as fucose or sialic acids (about fifty different sialic acids are known (Schauer, 2009)), are taken into account, the molecular diversity and varie”
• Complexity and Diversity of the Mammalian Sialome Revealed by Nidovirus Virolectins (2015, background): “In consequence of this topology, Sias are key elements of the glycotopes of many regulatory cellular lectins (Crocker et al., 2007; Schauer, 2009).”
• A systematic approach to protein glycosylation analysis: a path through the maze. (2010, background): “More than 20 different types of sialic acid are known, and understanding their key biological roles is becoming importan”