title: Functions and Biosynthesis of O-Acetylated Sialic Acids.
abstract: Sialic acids have a pivotal functional impact in many biological interactions such as virus attachment, cellular adhesion, regulation of proliferation, and apoptosis. A common modification of sialic acids is O-acetylation. O-Acetylated sialic acids occur in bacteria and parasites and are also receptor determinants for a number of viruses. Moreover, they have important functions in embryogenesis, development, and immunological processes. O-Acetylated sialic acids represent cancer markers, as shown for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and they are known to play significant roles in the regulation of ganglioside-mediated apoptosis. Expression of O-acetylated sialoglycans is regulated by sialic acid-specific O-acetyltransferases and O-acetylesterases. Recent developments in the identification of the enigmatic sialic acid-specific O-acetyltransferase are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Cancer and Cell Biology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4 Raja S.C. Mallick Road, Kolkata, 700 032, India.
authors.forename: Chitra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mandal
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwartz-Albiez
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vlasak
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation; D000115:Acetylesterase / Q000378:metabolism*; D000123:Acetyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000740:Anemia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D017209:Apoptosis; D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007891:Leishmania / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D007938:Leukemia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D012795:Sialoglycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D014780:Viruses / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005732:Gangliosides; D012795:Sialoglycoproteins; D000123:Acetyltransferases; C099970:sialic acid O-acetyltransferase; D000115:Acetylesterase; C046298:sialate O-acetylesterase; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid