Biosynthesis of sialic acids by Neisseria meningitidis.

Recent reports from this laboratory (2-4) and other laboratories (5, 6) have elucidated the pathway of biosynthesis of N-acetylneuraminic acid from N-acetyl-n-mannosamine and phosphoenolpyruvic acid in mammalian systems. The over-all biosynthetic reaction for rat liver and bovine submaxillary gland is catalyzed by 3 enzymes: a kinase, a condensing enzyme, and a dephosphorylating enzyme. N-Acetyl-n-mannosamine is phosphorylated by a specific kinase and adenosine triphosphate to yield N-acetyl-n-mannosamine 6phosphate. This condenses with phosphoenolpyruvic acid to give N-acetylneuraminic acid 9-phosphati according to Equation 1.