Structure and function of vertebrate CMP-sialic acid synthetases.
Activation of sugars into nucleotide sugars is critical for their entry into biosynthetic pathways. In eukaryotic cells, the activation of the acidic nine-carbon sugar sialic acid to CMP-sialic acid takes place in the cell nucleus, whereas all other nucleotide sugars are made in the cytoplasm. Molecular cloning of vertebrate CMP-sialic acid synthetases confirmed the nuclear localization and introduced new molecular tools for directly exploring the functional mechanisms of the enzymes, as well as the physiological relevance of their nuclear transport. Although major advances have been made in understanding structure-function relationships and defining elements involved in the nuclear transport, the riddle surrounding the physiological relevance of nuclear localization awaits resolution.
Münster-Kühnel
Anja K
AK
Zentrum Biochemie, Abteilung Zelluläre Chemie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, D-30625 Hannover, Germany.
Tiralongo
Joe
J
Krapp
Stephan
S
Weinhold
Birgit
B
Ritz-Sedlacek
Valentina
V
Jacob
Uwe
U
Gerardy-Schahn
Rita
R
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D000216:N-Acylneuraminate Cytidylyltransferase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
D000216:N-Acylneuraminate Cytidylyltransferase