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Sialic acid

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	Sialic acid
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	Topics Sialic acid Topic Home Sialic acid is a generic term for the N- or O-substituted derivatives of neuraminic acidNeuraminic acid Neuraminic acid is a 9-carbon monosaccharide.... , a monosaccharideMonosaccharide Monosaccharides are the simplest form of carbohydrates.... with a nine-carbonCarbon Carbon is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol C and atomic number 6.... backbone. It is also the name for the most common member of this group, N-acetylneuraminic acidN-Acetylneuraminic acid N-Acetylneuraminic acid is the predominant sialic acid.... (Neu5Ac or NANA). Sialic acids are found widely distributed in animal tissues and in bacteria, especially in glycoproteinGlycoprotein Summary A glycoprotein is a macromolecule composed of a protein and a carbohydrate.... s and gangliosideGanglioside Ganglioside is a compound composed of a glycosphingolipid with one or more sialic acids linked on the sugar chain.... s. The amino group bears either an acetyl or a glycolyl group. The hydroxyl substituents may vary considerably: acetyl, lactyl, methyl, sulfate, and phosphate groups have been found. Sialic acid-rich glycoproteins bind selectinSelectin Selectins are a family of cell-surface adhesion molecules of leukocytes and endothelial cells.... in humans and other organisms. Cancer cells that can metastasize often have a lot of sialic acid-rich glycoproteins. This helps these late-stage cancer cells enter the blood stream. Sialic acid-rich oligosaccharides on the glycoconjugates found on surface membranes help keep water at the surface of cells. The sialic acid-rich regions contribute to creating a negative charge on the cells' surface. Since water is a polar molecule with partial positive charges on both hydrogen atoms, it is attracted to cell surfaces and membranes. This also contributes to cellular fluid uptake. Sialic acid can "hide" mannose antigens on the surface of host cells or bacteria from mannose-binding lectin. This prevents activation of complementComplement system The complement system is a biochemical cascade of the immune system that helps clear pathogens from an organism.... . The term "sialic acid" (from the Greek s?a??s (sialos) 'saliva') was first introduced by SwedishFacts About Sweden The Kingdom of Sweden is a Nordic country in Scandinavia.... biochemist, Gunnar Blix, in 1952. See also SialidosisSialidosis Mucolipidosis type I or sialidosis results from a deficiency in one of the digestive enzymes known as sialidase.... SialoglycoproteinSialoglycoprotein A sialoglycoprotein is a combination of sialic acid glycoprotein ... SialyltransferaseSialyltransferase Sialyltransferases are enzymes that transfer sialic acid to nascent oligosaccharides.... Additional images External links in UniProtUniProt UniProt is the *universal prot*ein database, a central repository of protein data created by combining Swi... knowledgebase