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

Sialic acid terminates oligosaccharide chains on mammalian and microbial cell surfaces, playing critical roles in recognition and adherence. The enzymes that transfer the sialic acid moiety from cytidine-5'-monophospho-N-acetyl-neuraminic acid (CMP-NeuAc) to the terminal positions of these key glycoconjugates are known as sialyltransferases. Despite their important biological roles, little is understood about the mechanism or molecular structure of these membrane-associated enzymes. We report the first structure of a sialyltransferase, that of CstII from Campylobacter jejuni, a highly prevalent foodborne pathogen. Our structural, mutagenesis and kinetic data provide support for a novel mode of substrate binding and glycosyl transfer mechanism, including essential roles of a histidine (general base) and two tyrosine residues (coordination of the phosphate leaving group). This work provides a framework for understanding the activity of several sialyltransferases, from bacterial to human, and for the structure-based design of specific inhibitors.
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PMID:Structural analysis of the sialyltransferase CstII from Campylobacter jejuni in complex with a substrate analog. 1473 Mar 52

Surface expressed negatively charged sialoglycans contribute to the regulation of adhesive cellular interactions and are thus involved in the growth and differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells. In particular, the cell surface sialylation state may govern the liberation of CD34+ hematopoietic precursors from bone marrow stroma cells and extracellular matrix. In order to assess the overall surface sialylation of live human CD34+ hematopoietic precursor cells, we applied a previously described flow cytometric enzyme assay. Cells with and without sialidase pretreatment were incubated in the presence of fluorescent CMP-sialic acid and exogenous ST6GalI. Thus sialylation of surface-expressed lactosamine residues was analysed. We demonstrated that surface lactosamines of CD34+ precursors derived from bone marrow and peripheral blood are over 95% sialylated, predominantly in alpha2-6 linkage. These results are in accordance with flow cytometric analysis of surface lectin staining. Sialic acid specific lectins MAA and SNA were strongly bound whereas SBA, VVA, and PNA became reactive only after sialidase pretreatment. CD34+ leukemia cell lines TF1 and KG1a also showed a high degree of surface sialylation, whereas cell line KG1 expressed to the largest extent free lactosamines. In these cell lines, alpha2-6 and alpha2-3 sialylated residues were present in equal amounts. In a variation of the flow cytometric enzyme assay, live cells were incubated without exogenous STGal I to measure the activity of endogenous ecto-sialyltransferase. Ecto sialyltransferase activity was observed in all CD34+ cells which was able to resialylate major surface glycoproteins such as HLA Class I, CD45, CD43, and CD34. The ecto-sialyltransferase may serve to maintain or increase surface sialylation rapidly without de novo synthesis.
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PMID:Cell surface sialylation and ecto-sialyltransferase activity of human CD34 progenitors from peripheral blood and bone marrow. 1575 Jul 86

Several bacterial pathogens have evolved the means to escape immune detection by mimicking host cell surface carbohydrates that are crucial for self/non-self recognition. Sialic acid, a terminal residue on these carbohydrates, inhibits activation of the alternate pathway of complement by recruiting the immune modulating molecule factors H, I, and iC3b. Sialylation of capsular polysaccharide (CPS) is important for virulence of group B streptococci (GBS), a significant human pathogen. We previously reported that cpsK, a gene within the cps locus of type III GBS, could complement a sialyltransferase deficient lst mutant of Haemophilus ducreyi, implicating its role in sialylation of the GBS capsule. To explore the function of cpsK in GBS capsule production, we created a mutant in cpsK. Immunoblot analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using anti-type III CPS antisera demonstrated that the mutant CPS did not contain sialic acid. This was confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography after mild acid hydrolysis of the CPS. Although increased CPS chain length was seen for this strain, CPS production was <20% of the parental isolate. An episomal cpsK copy restored synthesis of sialo-CPS to wild-type levels. These data support our hypothesis that cpsK encodes the GBS CPS sialyltransferase and provide further evidence that lack of CPS oligosaccharide sialylation reduces the amount of CPS expressed on the cell surface. These observations also imply that one or more of the components involved in synthesis or transport of oligosaccharide repeating units requires a sialo-oligosaccharide for complete activity.
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PMID:Sialylation of group B streptococcal capsular polysaccharide is mediated by cpsK and is required for optimal capsule polymerization and expression. 1596 73

Sialic acids are widely distributed among living creatures, from bacteria to mammals, but it has been commonly accepted that they do not exist in plants. However, with the progress of genome analyses, putative gene homologs of animal sialyltransferases have been detected in the genome of some plants. In this study, we cloned three genes from Oryza sativa (Japanese rice) that encode sialyltransferase-like proteins, designated OsSTLP1, 2, and 3, and analyzed the enzymatic activity of the proteins. OsSTLP1, 2, and 3 consist of 393, 396, and 384 amino acids, respectively, and each contains sequences similar to the sialyl motifs that are highly conserved among animal sialyltransferases. The recombinant soluble forms of OsSTLPs produced by COS-7 cells were analyzed for sialyltransferase-like activity. OsSTLP1 exhibited such activity toward the oligosaccharide Galbeta1,4GlcNAc and such glycoproteins as asialofetuin, alpha1-acid glycoprotein, and asialo-alpha1-acid glycoprotein; OsSTLP3 exhibited similar activity toward asialofetuin; and OsSTLP2 exhibited no sialyltransferase-like activity. The sialic acid transferred by OsSTLP1 or 3 was linked to galactose of Galbeta1,4GlcNAc through alpha2,6-linkage. This is the first report of plant proteins having sialyltransferase-like activity.
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PMID:Analysis of sialyltransferase-like proteins from Oryza sativa. 1645 16

Numerous vertebrate genes are involved in the biology of the oligosaccharide chains attached to glycoconjugates. These genes fall into diverse groups within the conventional Gene Ontology classification. However, they should be evaluated together from functional and evolutionary perspectives in a "biochemical systems" approach, considering each monosaccharide unit's biosynthesis, activation, transport, modification, transfer, recycling, degradation, and recognition. Sialic acid (Sia) residues are monosaccharides at the outer end of glycans on the cell-surface and secreted molecules of vertebrates, mediating recognition by intrinsic or extrinsic (pathogen) receptors. The availability of multiple genome sequences allows a system-wide comparison among primates and rodents of all genes directly involved in Sia biology. Taking this approach, we present further evidence for accelerated evolution in Sia-binding domains of CD33-related Sia-recognizing Ig-like lectins. Other gene classes are more conserved, including those encoding the sialyltransferases that attach Sia residues to glycans. Despite this conservation, tissue sialylation patterns are shown to differ widely among these species, presumably because of rapid evolution of sialyltransferase expression patterns. Analyses of N- and O-glycans of erythrocyte and plasma glycopeptides from these and other mammalian taxa confirmed this phenomenon. Sia modifications on these glycopeptides also appear to be undergoing rapid evolution. This rapid evolution of the sialome presumably results from the ongoing need of organisms to evade microbial pathogens that use Sia residues as receptors. The rapid evolution of Sia-binding domains of the inhibitory CD33-related Sia-recognizing Ig-like lectins is likely to be a secondary consequence, as these inhibitory receptors presumably need to keep up with recognition of the rapidly evolving "self"-sialome.
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PMID:System-wide genomic and biochemical comparisons of sialic acid biology among primates and rodents: Evidence for two modes of rapid evolution. 1676 23

Sialic acid is an essential sugar in biology that plays key roles in numerous cellular processes and interactions. The biosynthesis of sialylated glycoconjugates is catalyzed by five distinct families of sialyltransferases. In the last 25 years, there has been much research on the enzymes themselves, their genes, and their reaction products, but we still do not know the precise molecular mechanism of action for this class of glycosyltransferase. We previously reported the first detailed structural and kinetic characterization of Cst-II, a bifunctional sialyltransferase (CAZy GT-42) from the bacterium Campylobacter jejuni [Chiu et al. (2004) Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 11, 163-170]. This enzyme can use both Gal-beta-1,3/4-R and Neu5Ac-alpha-2,3-Gal-beta-1,3/4-R as acceptor sugars. A second sialyltransferase from this bacterium, Cst-I, has been shown to utilize solely Gal-beta-1,3/4-R as the acceptor sugar in its transferase reaction. We report here the structural and kinetic characterization of this monofunctional enzyme, which belongs to the same sialyltransferase family as Cst-II, in both apo and substrate bound form. Our structural data show that Cst-I adopts a similar GTA-type glycosyltransferase fold to that of the bifunctional Cst-II, with conservation of several key noncharged catalytic residues. Significant differences are found, however, between the two enzymes in the lid domain region, which is critical to the creation of the acceptor sugar binding site. Furthermore, molecular modeling of various acceptor sugars within the active sites of these enzymes provides significant new insights into the structural basis for substrate specificities within this biologically important enzyme class.
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PMID:Structural analysis of the alpha-2,3-sialyltransferase Cst-I from Campylobacter jejuni in apo and substrate-analogue bound forms. 1751 45

Sialic acids on vertebrate cell surfaces mediate many biological roles. Altered expression of certain sialic acid types or their linkages can have prognostic significance in human cancer. A classic but unexplained example is enhanced alpha2-6-sialylation on N-glycans resulting from overexpression of the Golgi enzyme beta-galactoside:alpha2-6-sialyltransferase (ST6Gal-I). Previous data supporting a role for the resulting Sia alpha 2-3Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc (Sia6LacNAc) structure in tumor biology were based on in vitro studies in transfected carcinoma cells, in which increased Sia6LacNAc on beta1-integrins enhanced their binding to ligands, and stimulated cell motility. Here, we examine for the first time the in vivo role of the ST6Gal-I enzyme in the growth and differentiation of spontaneous mammary cancers in mice transgenic for a mouse mammary tumor virus promoter-driven polyomavirus middle T antigen, a tumor in which beta1-integrin function is important for tumorigenesis and in maintaining the proliferative state of tumor cells. Tumors induced in St6gal1-null animals were more differentiated compared with those in the wild-type background, both by histologic analysis and by protein expression profiles. Furthermore, we show the St6gal1-null tumors have selectively altered expression of genes associated with focal adhesion signaling and have decreased phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase, a downstream target of beta1-integrins. This first in vivo evidence for a role of ST6Gal-I in tumor progression was confirmed using a novel approach, which conditionally restored St6gal1 in cell lines derived from the null tumors. These findings indicate a role for ST6Gal-I as a mediator of tumor progression, with its expression causing a less differentiated phenotype, via enhanced beta1-integrin function.
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PMID:alpha 2-6-Linked sialic acids on N-glycans modulate carcinoma differentiation in vivo. 1819 32

Sialic acids are negatively charged acidic sugars, and sialylglycoconjugates often play important roles in various biological phenomena. Sialyltransferases are involved in the synthesis of sialylglycoconjugates, and 20 members of the mammalian sialyltransferase family have been identified to date. These sialyltransferases are grouped into four families according to the carbohydrate linkages they synthesize: beta-galactoside alpha2,3-sialyltransferases (ST3Gal I-VI), beta-galactoside alpha2,6-sialyltransferases (ST6Gal I and II), GalNAc alpha2,6-sialyltransferases (ST6GalNAc I-VI), and alpha2,8-sialyltransferases (ST8Sia I-VI). Analysis of the amino acid sequence similarities, substrate specificities, and gene structures of mouse sialyltransferases has revealed that they can be further divided into seven subfamilies. The genomic structural resemblance of members of the same subfamily suggests that they arose from a common ancestral gene through gene duplication events. These multiple sialyltransferase genes are needed for fine control of the expression of sialylglycoconjugates, resulting in a variety of developmental stage- and tissue-specific glycosylation patterns.
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PMID:Characterization of mouse sialyltransferase genes: their evolution and diversity. 1846 Jul 88

Sialic acids are abundant nine-carbon sugars expressed terminally on glycoconjugates of eukaryotic cells and are crucial for a variety of cell biological functions such as cell-cell adhesion, intracellular signaling, and in regulation of glycoproteins stability. In bacteria, N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) polymers are important virulence factors. Cytidine 5'-monophosphate (CMP)-N-acetylneuraminic acid synthetase (CSS; EC 2.7.7.43), the key enzyme that synthesizes CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid, the donor molecule for numerous sialyltransferase reactions, is present in both prokaryotes and eukaryotic systems. Herein, we emphasize the source, function, and biotechnological applications of CSS enzymes from bacterial sources. To date, only a few CSS from pathogenic bacterial species such as Neisseria meningitidis, Escherichia coli, group B streptococci, Haemophilus ducreyi, and Pasteurella hemolytica and an enzyme from nonpathogenic bacterium, Clostridium thermocellum, have been described. Overall, the enzymes from both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria share common catalytic properties such as their dependency on divalent cation, temperature and pH profiles, and catalytic mechanisms. The enzymes, however, can be categorized as smaller and larger enzymes depending on their molecular weight. The larger enzymes in some cases are bifunctional; they have exhibited acetylhydrolase activity in addition to their sugar nucleotidyltransferase activity. The CSSs are important enzymes for the chemoenzymatic synthesis of various sialooligosaccharides of significance in biotechnology.
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PMID:Bacterial CMP-sialic acid synthetases: production, properties, and applications. 1871 69

Sialic acid content in FSH is modulated by GnRH and sexual steroids. Galbeta1,3GlcNAcalpha2,3-sialyltransferase (ST3Gal III) and Galbeta1,4GlcNAcalpha2,6-sialyltransferase (ST6Gal I) incorporate sialic acid residues into FSH oligosaccharides. The aim of the present study was to assess pituitary FSH molecular microheterogeneity and ST3Gal III/ST6Gal I expression during sexual development and after castration in male rats. Preparative isoelectric focusing and lectin chromatography were used to isolate FSH glycosylation variants according to charge and complexity of their oligosaccharides; RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry were employed to analyse sialyltransferase expression. Sexual development was associated with a progressive shift towards more acidic/sialylated FSH glycoforms concomitantly with an increment in ST6Gal I gene and protein expression. After castration, a transient decrease followed by a marked increase in ST6Gal I expression were observed. Less acidic/sialylated FSH glycoforms bearing incomplete oligosaccharides increased after castration, despite high ST6Gal I expression. ST3Gal III expression remained unchanged in all the experimental conditions examined. These results show that the synthesis of FSH isoforms possessing alpha2,6-linked sialic acid is hormonally regulated in male rats.
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PMID:Hormonal regulation of pituitary FSH sialylation in male rats. 1946 43


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