title: Advances in the biology and chemistry of sialic acids.
abstract: Sialic acids are a subset of nonulosonic acids, which are nine-carbon alpha-keto aldonic acids. Natural existing sialic acid-containing structures are presented in different sialic acid forms, various sialyl linkages, and on diverse underlying glycans. They play important roles in biological, pathological, and immunological processes. Sialobiology has been a challenging and yet attractive research area. Recent advances in chemical and chemoenzymatic synthesis, as well as large-scale E. coli cell-based production, have provided a large library of sialoside standards and derivatives in amounts sufficient for structure-activity relationship studies. Sialoglycan microarrays provide an efficient platform for quick identification of preferred ligands for sialic acid-binding proteins. Future research on sialic acid will continue to be at the interface of chemistry and biology. Research efforts not only will lead to a better understanding of the biological and pathological importance of sialic acids and their diversity but also could lead to the development of therapeutics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA. chen@chem.ucdavis.edu
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ajit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Varki
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology; D020650:Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D009439:Neuraminidase / Q000737:chemistry; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry*; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D012799:Sialyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D011134:Polysaccharides; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D012794:Sialic Acids; D012799:Sialyltransferases; D009439:Neuraminidase