Background: PfEBA-140 recognizes sialic acid on its receptor Glycophorin C during erythrocyte invasion. Results: PfEBA-140 contains two sialic acid binding pockets distinct from other sialic acid binding proteins and with divergent roles in receptor recognition. Conclusion: The glycan binding pockets define receptor recognition, specificity, and putative switching. Significance: The first detai...

The surface of vascular endothelium bears a glycocalyx comprised, in part, of a complex mixture of oligosaccharide chains attached to cell-surface proteins and membrane lipids. Importantly, understanding of the structure and function of the endothelial glycocalyx is poorly understood. Preliminary studies have demonstrated structural differences in the glycocalyx of pulmonary artery endothelial ...

The initial phase of membrane attack by complement is the interaction between C5b6, C7, and the cell membrane that leads to the insertion of C5b-7. Here we investigate the role of sialic acid residues in the assembly of C5b-7 intermediates on erythrocyte cell membranes. We find that C5b6 binds to glycophorin, whereas C5 or C6 does not bind, and desialylation of the glycophorin abolishes C5b6 bi...

The adhesins of Escherichia coli strains HB101(pANN801-13) and HB101(pAZZ50), which express S fimbriae encoded by a recombinant plasmid containing the sfaI and sfaII gene clusters, respectively, were characterized with regard to the detailed structural requirements of their binding to sialyloligosaccharides on (neo)glycoproteins and (neo)glycolipids. From binding and binding inhibition studies ...

This manuscript is dedicated to Prof. Tamio Yamakawa and describes my cooperations on sialic acid-related topics with Japanese scientists during the last 40 years. We studied sialic acids and their O-acetylated derivatives in the sea urchin Pseudocentrotus depressus, in Halocynthia species, and in human and bovine milk. In seafood we mainly searched for N-glycolylneuraminic acid. With synthetic...

Gold nanoparticles decorated with full-length sialic acid terminated complex bi-antennary N-glycans, synthesized with glycans isolated from egg yolk, were used as a sensor for the detection of both recombinant hemagglutinin (HA) and whole influenza A virus particles of the H1N1 subtype. Nanoparticle aggregation was induced by interaction between the sialic acid termini of the glycans attached t...

This manuscript is dedicated to Prof. Tamio Yamakawa and describes my cooperations on sialic acid-related topics with Japanese scientists during the last 40 years. We studied sialic acids and their O-acetylated derivatives in the sea urchin Pseudocentrotus depressus, in Halocynthia species, and in human and bovine milk. In seafood we mainly searched for N-glycolylneuraminic acid. With synthetic...

Cell-surface sialic acids are essential in mediating a variety of physiological and pathological processes. Sialic acid chemistry and biology remain challenging to investigate, demanding new tools for probing sialylation in living systems. The metabolic glycan labeling (MGL) strategy has emerged as an invaluable chemical biology tool that enables metabolic installation of useful functionalities...

Objective: The telomerase enzyme complex comprises among other proteins, two main subunits; TERT and TR component. Polysialic acid chains modify the adhesive function of NCAM molecules, presumably by making it easier to relinquish the cells to which they are stuck. Telomerase activity and sialic acid levels may be used to predict the biological behavior of gliomas. Materials and Methods: Telome...

Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) is a natural pathogen of the mouse. The different strains of TMEV are divided into two subgroups according to the pathology they provoke. The neurovirulent strains GDVII and FA induce an acute fatal encephalitis, while persistent strains, like DA and BeAn, cause a chronic demyelinating disease associated with viral persistence in the central nervo...