Sialic acids in fungi: a minireview.
The increasing number of reports on the presence of sialic acids in fungi (N-acetyl-, N-glycolyl- and 5,9-N,O-diacetylneuraminic acids) based on direct and indirect evidence warrants the present review. Formerly suggested as sialidase-sensitive sources of anionic groups at the cell surface of fungal species grown in chemically defined media (e.g., Fonsecaea pedrosoi), sialic acids have also been found in Sporothrix schenckii, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Cryptococcus neoformans and recently, in Candida albicans. Methods used involved adequate hydrolysis and extraction procedures, HPTLC, gas-chromatography, colorimetry, mass spectroscopy, lectin and influenza virus binding. Apart from protecting fungal cells against phagocytosis (S. schenckii, C. neoformans) and playing a cellular structural role (F. pedrosoi), other biological functions of sialic acids are still being investigated.
Alviano
C S
CS
Instituto de Microbiologia Professor Paulo de Goes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Travassos
L R
LR
Schauer
R
R
D005658:Fungi / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D012794:Sialic Acids