Lessons from GNE-deficient embryonic stem cells: sialic acid biosynthesis is involved in proliferation and gene expression.
Sialic acids are widely expressed as terminal carbohydrates on glycoconjugates of eukaryotic cells. They are involved in a variety of cellular functions, such as cell adhesion or signal recognition. The key enzyme of sialic acid biosynthesis is the bifunctional UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase (GNE), which catalyzes the first two steps of sialic acid biosynthesis in the cytosol. Inactivation of GNE causes early embryonic lethality. In this study, we analyzed wild-type and GNE-deficient embryonic stem cells from mice. We found for the first time that proliferation is directly correlated with GNE-expression and the cellular sialic acid concentration. Furthermore, we identified growth-related genes that are differentially expressed in GNE-deficient embryonic stem cells compared to wild-type embryonic stem cells.
Institute of Physiological Chemistry, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Hollystr. 1, D-06114 Halle, Germany. wenke.weidemann@medizin.uni-halle.de
Wenke
W
Weidemann
Christian
C
Klukas
Andreas
A
Klein
Andreas
A
Simm
Falk
F
Schreiber
Rüdiger
R
Horstkorte
D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D015870:Gene Expression; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005838:Genotype; D006595:Hexosamines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / Q000737:chemistry; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction
D006595:Hexosamines; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor); C018765:N-acylmannosamine kinase; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid; C002022:N-acetylmannosamine