Sialic acid-specific lectins: occurrence, specificity and function.
Sialic acids consist of a family of acidic nine-carbon sugars that are typically located at the terminal positions of a variety of glycoconjugates. Naturally occurring sialic acids show an immense diversity of structure, and this reflects their involvement in a variety of biologically important processes. One such process involves the direct participation of sialic acids in recognition events through specific interactions with lectins, a family of proteins that recognise and bind sugars. This review will present a detailed overview of our current knowledge regarding the occurrence, specificity and function of sialic acid-specific lectins, particularly those that occur in viruses, bacteria and non-vertebrate eukaryotes.
Lehmann
F
F
Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, PMB 50, Gold Coast Mail Centre, 9726 Australia. f.lehmann@griffith.edu.au
Tiralongo
E
E
Tiralongo
J
J
D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D037102:Lectins / Q000378:metabolism*; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014780:Viruses / Q000378:metabolism
D037102:Lectins; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid