Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.4.99.7 (sialyltransferase)
1,534 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Comparing the properties of 'young' and senescent ('aged') O+ erythrocytes isolated by applying ultracentrifugation in a self-forming Percoll gradient, we demonstrate that the sialic acids of membrane glycoconjugates control the life span of erythrocytes and that the desialylation of glycans is responsible for the clearance of the aged erythrocytes. This capture is mediated by a beta-galactolectin present in the membrane of macrophages. The evidence supporting these conclusions is as follows: (1) Analysis by flow cytofluorimetry of the binding of fluorescein isothiocyanate labelled lectins specific for sialic acids shows that the aged erythrocytes bind less WGA, LPA, SNA and MAA than young erythrocytes. The binding of DSA and LCA is not modified. On the contrary, the number of binding sites of UEA-I specific for O antigen and of AAA decreases significantly. PNA and GNA do not bind to erythrocytes. (2) RCA120 as well as Erythrina cristagalli and Erythrina corallodendron lectins specific for terminal beta-galactose residues lead to unexpected and unexplained results with a decrease in the number of lectin binding sites associated with increasing desialylation. (3) The glycoconjugates from the old erythrocytes incorporate more sialic acid than the young cells. This observation results from the determination of the rate of transfer by alpha-2,6-sialyltransferase of fluorescent or radioactive N-acetylneuraminic acid, using as donors CMP-9-fluoresceinyl-NeuAc and CMP-[14C]-NeuAc, respectively. (4) Microscopy shows that the old erythrocytes are captured preferentially by the macrophages relative to the young ones. Fixation of erythrocytes by the macrophage membrane is inhibited by lactose, thus demonstrating the involvement of a terminal beta-galactose specific macrophage lectin. (5) Comparative study of the binding of WGA, LPA, SNA and MAA to the aged erythrocytes and to the in vitro enzymatically desialylated erythrocytes shows that the desialylation rate of aged cells is low but sufficient to lead to their capture by the macrophages.
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PMID:Flow cytofluorimetric analysis of young and senescent human erythrocytes probed with lectins. Evidence that sialic acids control their life span. 749 40

Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) is now considered to be the most sensitive and specific biological marker of alcohol abuse. However, the mechanism by which chronic alcohol consumption causes an elevation of CDT levels in serum is still not understood. Therefore, we fed eight pairs of male rats a nutritionally adequate liquid diet containing either alcohol (36% of energy) or isocaloric dextrose (control) for 4 weeks, after which blood and liver samples were obtained. Serum CDT content in alcohol-treated rats increased by 45% (P < .05) in ethanol-fed animals compared with their corresponding controls. In contrast, in rats fed ethanol, the activities of sialyltransferase (ST), galactosyltransferase (GT), and N-acetylglucosamine transferase (N-AGT), which are glycosyltransferases involved in transferrin carbohydrate side chain synthesis, were diminished by 24% and 40% (P < .05), 23% and 51% (P < .05, .001), and 20% and 26% (P < .05) in total liver homogenates and Golgi fraction (GF) 1, respectively, when expressed as units/100 g body weight. These enzymes were also significantly less active in hepatic GFs 2 and 3. The depression of the transferase activities in ethanol-fed rats appeared to be due, at least in part, to enzyme inactivation by acetaldehyde, whereas ethanol itself was without effect. Similar results were obtained in humans: five alcohol abusers were found to exhibit a 23% decrease in hepatic sialyltransferase and a 41% increase in sialidase activities, respectively, when compared with three nondrinking subjects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Serum carbohydrate-deficient transferrin: mechanism of increase after chronic alcohol intake. 759 Jun 64

It has previously been reported that about 90% of human colon carcinomas express increased levels of the sialyltransferase which adds sialic acid in alpha 2,6 linkage to galactose residues on N-linked chains of glycoproteins. To ascertain whether colon cancer tissues actually express increased amounts of alpha 2,6-sialylated sugar chains on their glycoconjugates, we screened tissue sections of normal colon, benign and malignant colon tumors with digoxigenin-conjugated Sambucus nigra agglutinin (SNA), a NeuAc alpha 2,6Gal/GalNAc-specific lectin. At the concentration of lectin used, epithelial cells of all the 13 normal colon specimens examined were unreactive; 3 out of 8 benign lesions showed a weak reactivity being the remainder unreactive, while 23 out of 26 carcinomas were positive at a variable degree. Qualitative differences were evident among different carcinoma specimens. In some cases a large number of intensely stained intracytoplasmatic particles was present, thus suggesting that reactivity may be associated with secretions, very likely of mucus droplets. In other specimens there was a more uniform distribution of the staining which suggest that reactivity is associated with cell membrane glycoconjugates. These data indicate that the expression of a2,6-sialylated sugar chains is remarkably increased in the majority of colon cancer specimens examined.
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PMID:Expression of alpha 2,6-sialylated sugar chains in normal and neoplastic colon tissues. Detection by digoxigenin-conjugated Sambucus nigra agglutinin. 769 64

Somatic mutations and drugs that either reduce beta 1-6GlcNAc-branching of N-linked oligosaccharides or block the addition of terminal sequences containing galactose and sialic acid have been shown to inhibit tumour growth and metastasis. In an attempt to further define the oligosaccharide sequences that contribute to the malignant phenotype, we have selected spontaneous wheat germ agglutinin-resistant (WGAR) mutants from highly metastatic murine lymphoid tumour cells and characterized four mutant phenotypes. Mutants were selected from VM4, a clone of the MDAY-D2 tumour cell line which had been transfected with the bacterial beta-galactosidase gene (LacZ). VM4 cells retained the malignant phenotype of MDAY-D2 and the cells expressed LacZ, which facilitated the counting of metastases as the tumour cells stained blue when incubated with 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl beta-D-galactopyranoside (X-gal). The most frequently isolated mutant was defective in the transport of UDP-Gal into the Golgi, and as previously observed for this mutation, the cells were non-metastatic and produced very slow-growing solid tumours. Mutants expressing CMP-SA hydroxylase, and consequently glycoconjugates with N-glycolylneuraminic acid (NeuNGc), remained highly metastatic, but grew more slowly than VM4 cells as s.c. tumours in mice. A novel WGAR mutant showing a large increase in Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc:alpha 2-6 sialyltransferase (SA-T) mRNA levels (ST6N) and enzyme activity was observed to be less metastatic and also grew more slowly at the s.c. site of inoculation. Finally, a fourth phenotypic class of WGAR mutants showed a complex phenotype including expression of a beta Gal-binding cell surface lectin and reduced sialylation of glycoconjugates. These results suggest that changes in either the amount, the type or linkage of sialic acid in tumour cell glycoconjugates can affect tumour growth and metastasis.
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PMID:Sialylation and malignant potential in tumour cell glycosylation mutants. 788 Nov 81

The CMP-sialic acid:poly alpha 2,8sialosyl sialyltransferase (polyST) in neurotropic Escherichia coli K1 inner membranes catalyzes synthesis of the alpha 2,8-linked polysialic acid capsule. The capsule is a neurovirulent determinant associated with neonatal meningitis in humans. A functionally similar polyST in human neuroblastomas polysialylates neural cell adhesion molecules. While bacteria do not synthesize glycosphingolipids (GSLs), we report here that the E. coli K1 polyST can selectively polysialylate several structurally related GSLs, when added as exogenous sialyl acceptors. A structural feature common to the preferred sialyl acceptors (GD3 > GT1a > GQ1b = GT1b > GD2 = GD1b = GD1a > GM1) was the disialyl glycotope, Sia alpha 2,8Sia, alpha 2,3-linked to galactose (Sia is sialic acid). A linear tetrasaccharide with a terminal Sia residue (e.g., GD3) was the minimum length oligosaccharide recognized by the polyST. Endo-N-acylneuraminidase was used to confirm the alpha 2,8-specific polysialylation of GSL. Ceramide glycanase was used to release the polysialyllactose chains from the ceramide moiety. Size analysis of these chains showed that 60-80 Sia residues were transferred to the disialyllactose moiety of GD3. The significance of these findings is two-fold. (i) The E. coli K1 polyST can be used as a synthetic reagent to enzymatically engineer the glycosyl moiety of GSL, thus creating oligo- or polysialylated GSLs. Such "designer" GSLs may have potentially important biological and pharmacological properties. (ii) The use of GSLs as exogenous sialyl acceptors increases the sensitivity of detecting polyST activity. The practical advantage of this finding is that polyST activity can be identified and studied in those eukaryotic cells that express low levels of this developmentally regulated enzyme and/or its acceptor.
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PMID:Polysialic acid engineering: synthesis of polysialylated neoglycosphingolipids by using the polysialyltransferase from neuroinvasive Escherichia coli K1. 797 78

A cDNA clone encoding a new type of GalNAc alpha 2,6-sialyltransferase (ST6GalNAc II) with a structure similar to that of a previously cloned GalNAc alpha 2,6-sialyltransferase (ST6GalNAc I; Kurosawa, N., Hamamoto, T., Lee, Y.-C., Nakaoka, T., Kojima, N., and Tsuji, S. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 1402-1409) was obtained from chicken testes. The predicted amino acid sequence of ST6GalNAc II encodes a protein with type II transmembrane topology, as found for other glycosyltransferases, and showed 32% identity with that of ST6GalNAc I. Transfection of the full length ST6GalNAc II gene into COS cells led to GalNAc alpha 2,6-sialyltransferase activity with a different substrate specificity from that of ST6GalNAc I. Moreover, asialofetuin after treatment with beta-galactosidase did not serve as an acceptor for this enzyme. 14C-Sialylated oligosaccharides obtained from resialylated asialobovine submaxillary mucin with this enzyme were identical to Gal beta 1,3([14C]NeuAc alpha 2,6)GalNAc-ol but not [14C]NeuAc alpha 2,6GalNAc-ol. These results clearly show that the expressed enzyme is a novel type of sialyltransferase that requires beta-galactoside residues linked to GalNAc residues, whereas sialic acid residues linked to galactose residues are not essential for the activity.
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PMID:Cloning and expression of Gal beta 1,3GalNAc-specific GalNAc alpha 2,6-sialyltransferase. 803 63

The metabolism of two radiolabelled glycosphingolipids, lactosylceramide and GM1 ganglioside, in differentiated and undifferentiated HT-29 cells is reported. Both lactosylceramide and GM1 ganglioside were demonstrated to be extensively catabolized in undifferentiated cells, as deduced by the relative amount of the compounds formed along the degradative pathway. Conversely, in differentiated cells both precursors were utilized as substrates for sugar-chain elongation. Furthermore we were unable to detect any significant difference in the activity of CMP-NeuAc:GM1 alpha 2-->3 sialyltransferase, a Golgi key enzyme for the glycosylation of glycosphingolipids, between the two cell populations. Taken together with our previous results on the differentiation-dependent trimming of high-mannose N-linked glycoproteins in HT-29 cells, one can suggest that common steps control the anabolic/catabolic balance of these two classes of glycoconjugates as a function of differentiation.
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PMID:The metabolic processing of glycosphingolipids in HT-29 cells is differentiation-dependent. 804 73

The in vitro activity of sialyltransferase IV (SAT-IV), which catalyzes the transfer of sialic acid to the terminal galactose of different gangliotetraosylceramides (GA1, GM1a and GD1b), was examined in membrane-enriched preparations from mouse embryos at embryonic day 12 (E-12). Gangliosides GD1a and GT1b were the only reaction products using GM1a and GD1b as substrates, respectively. The Km values for GM1a and GD1b were 53 microM and 42 microM, respectively. Competitive inhibition experiments showed that the same enzyme (SAT-IV) catalyzed sialic acid transfer to the terminal galactose residues of both GM1a and GD1b. Two labeled ganglioside products were obtained, however, using GA1 as a substrate. One product was identified as ganglioside GM1b and the enzymatic reaction for its formation was maximal at pH 6.0, similar to that for GD1a and GT1b formation. The second product, synthesized by a different sialyltransferase, was identified as GD1 alpha based on results from TLC immunostaining, neuraminidase digestion, and periodate oxidation-borohydride reduction. The pH dependence curve for GD1 alpha formation had a different shape than that for GM1b formation with a maximum at pH 6.3. GD1 alpha is apparently synthesized from GM1b by an endosialyltransferase that catalyzes the transfer of a second sialic acid to the internal N-acetylgalactosamine of GM1b. The formation of both GM1b and GD1 alpha was linear over protein concentration. The ratio of GD1 alpha/GM1b formation varied from 0.25 to 1.20 depending on the GA1 substrate concentration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Ganglioside biosynthesis in mouse embryos: sialyltransferase IV and the asialo pathway. 807 55

The cytoplasmic droplet of epididymal spermatozoa is a small localized outpouching of cytoplasm of the tail of unknown significance. EM revealed flattened saccular elements as the near exclusive membranous component of the droplet. Light and electron microscopic immunolabeling for Golgi/TGN markers showed these saccules to be reactive for antibodies to TGN38, protein affinity-purified alpha 2,6 sialyltransferase, and anti-human beta 1,4 galactosyltransferase. The saccules were isolated by subcellular fractionation and antibodies raised against this fraction immunolabeled the saccules of the droplet in situ as well as the Golgi region of somatic epithelial cells lining the epididymis. The isolated droplet fraction was enriched in galactosyltransferase and sialyltransferase activities, and endogenous glycosylation assays identified the modification of several endogenous glycopeptides. EM lectin staining in situ demonstrated galactose and N-acetyl galactosamine constituents in the saccules. Endocytic studies with cationic and anionic ferritin as well as HRP failed to identify the saccules as components of the endocytic apparatus. Epididymal spermatozoa were devoid of markers for the ER as well as the Golgi-associated coatamer protein beta-COP. It is therefore unlikely that the saccular elements of the droplet participate in vesicular protein transport. However, the identification of Golgi/TGN glycosylating activities in the saccules may be related to plasma membrane modifications which occur during epididymal sperm maturation.
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PMID:The cytoplasmic droplet of rat epididymal spermatozoa contains saccular elements with Golgi characteristics. 822 42

Sialyltransferases are a family of 10-12 enzymes that catalyze the transfer of sialic acid to carbohydrate groups of glycoproteins and glycolipids. Three sialyltransferase cDNAs have been cloned, revealing a highly conserved sialylmotif in the catalytic domain of these enzymes. Using a polymerase chain reaction-based approach, we cloned a 150-base pair fragment of a new sialymotif from human placenta mRNA, which was then used as a probe to clone the complete coding sequence of the corresponding gene from a cDNA library. Like the other members of the sialyltransferase gene family cloned to date, the new cDNA coded for a protein predicted to have an NH2-terminal signal-anchor sequence and had the sialylmotif located in the center of the molecule. Comparison with the three other cloned sialyltransferases revealed extensive sequence homology that was not recognized earlier. Expression of a soluble recombinant form of the protein in COS-1 cells produced an active sialyltransferase, which used oligosaccharide, glycoprotein, and glycolipid acceptor substrates with terminal galactose in the Gal beta 1,3GalNAc and Gal beta 1, 4GlcNAc sequences but not the Gal beta 1,3GlcNAc sequence. The sialylated products were sensitive to digestion with the Newcastle disease virus sialidase, which is specific for sialic acid-galactose linkages in the alpha 2,3 linkage. The results suggest that this new member of the sialyltransferase gene family is the enzyme previously described as a glycolipid sialyltransferase activity (SAT-3), which forms the terminal sequences NeuAc alpha-2,3Gal beta 1,3GalNAc-R and NeuAc alpha 2,3Gal beta 1, 4GlcNAc-R.
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PMID:Cloning of a novel alpha 2,3-sialyltransferase that sialylates glycoprotein and glycolipid carbohydrate groups. 828 6


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