PURPOSE We measured the concentration of sialic acid, the terminal component of mucin, in normal diluted human tears. METHODS Twenty-microliter tear samples were collected from 31 healthy volunteers (average age = 50.7 years) using micropipette after 50 microL instillation of saline. We investigated the correlation of concentration between glycoprotein and sialic acid and the difference betwe...

Porphyromonas gingivalis produces different lipopolysaccharide isoforms with significant structural variations of their lipid A and O-antigen moieties that can affect its pro-inflammatory and bone resorbing potential. We show here, for the first time, that P.gingivalis LPS isolated from W83 strain is highly sialylated and possesses significantly reduced inflammatory potential compared to less s...

Changes in uterine sialic acid and glycogen were studied in rats during days 1-6 of pregnancy. There was a sharp decline in uterine glycogen following mating, and thereafter increased gradually to reach a peak level on day 4 (4 PM). Coinciding with the entry of blastocysts into the uterus [between day 4 (10 PM) and day 5 (10 AM)] uterine glycogen decreased to a low level which was maintained up...

BACKGROUND The O48 group comprises Salmonella bacteria containing sialic acid in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Bacteria with sialylated surface structures are described as pathogens that avoid immunological response of the host by making similar their surface antigens to the host's tissues (molecular mimicry). It is known that the smooth-type LPS of Salmonella enterica and outer membrane protei...

BACKGROUND Detection of cancer at an early stage is of utmost importance to decrease the morbidity and mortality of the disease. Apart from the conventional biopsy, non-invasive methods like analysis of serum and saliva may provide cost-effective approach for screening a large population. Tumor markers are a major part of secondary prevention and thus, the detection of malignancies. The aim of ...

Analogues of N-acetylneuraminic acid (sialic acid, NANA, Neu5Ac), including 6-dipropylcarboxamides, have been found to be selective and potent inhibitors of influenza sialidases. Sialic acid analogues are, however, difficult to synthesize by traditional chemical methods and the enzyme N-acetylneuraminic acid lyase (NAL) has previously been used for the synthesis of a number of analogues. The ac...

BACKGROUND We investigated the relationship between serum levels of total sialic acid, lipid bound sialic acid and acute pancreatitis in a rat model of a common bile duct ligation induced acute pancreatitis. METHODS Twenty five Sprague-Dawley male rats weighing 250-300 g were divided into two groups (n=10: control, n=15: experimental). In the control group only a sham laparotomy was performed...

The Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte-binding antigen 175 (EBA-175) is a ligand for merozoite invasion into human erythrocytes that binds to glycophorin A in a sialic acid-dependent manner. P. falciparum strain W2mef depends on sialic acid for invasion of erythrocytes, whereas 3D7 is sialic acid-independent. We generated parasites that lack expression or express truncated forms of EBA-175 in W2...

Stroke is a heterogeneous syndrome caused by multiple disease mechanisms, resulting in a disruption of cerebral blood flow with subsequent tissue damage. It is well known that erythrocytes have a large amount of sialic acid and could represent a model to investigate changes occurring in a pathology like stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate a possible relationship among erythrocyte m...