Advanced Technologies in Sialic Acid and Sialoglycoconjugate Analysis

Although the structural diversity of sialic acid (Sia) is rapidly expanding, understanding of its biological significance has lagged behind. Advanced technologies to detect and probe diverse structures of Sia are absolutely necessary not only to understand further biological significance but also to pursue medicinal and industrial applications. Here we describe analytical methods for detection of Sia that have recently been developed or improved, with a special focus on 9-O-acetylated N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5,9Ac), N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), deaminoneuraminic acid (Kdn), O-sulfated Sia (SiaS), and di-, oligo-, and polysialic acid (diSia/oligoSia/polySia) in glycoproteins and glycolipids. Much more attention has been paid to these Sia and sialoglycoconjugates during the last decade, in terms of regulation of the immune system, neural development and function, tumorigenesis, and aging.

Structural and functional impairments of polysialic acid (polySia)-neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) synthesized by a mutated polysialyltransferase of a schizophrenic patient

Polysialic acid (polySia) is a homopolymer of sialic acid with a degree of polymerization (DP) of 8–400. When present on neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), polySia has anti-adhesive effects on cell–cell interactions owing to its bulky polyanionic nature, and is involved in the regulation of neurogenesis and neuronal functions. Recently, we demonstrated that polySia functions not only as an anti-cell adhesion molecule, but also as a reservoir scaffold for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), which are biologically active molecules in neurogenesis. To understand the significance of polySia structure in the reservoir function, we focused on polySia-NCAM biosynthesized by mutated polysialyltransferase (ST8SiaII or STX) that was reported in a schizophrenia patient. The polySia-NCAM biosynthesized by mutant ST8SiaII/STX contained less polySia with shorter chain length and exhibited impaired reservoir function for BDNF and FGF2 as compared with that synthesized by wild-type (wt) ST8SiaII/STX. Our findings suggest that the quantity and quality of polySia on NCAM are important for normal neuronal functioning.

Novel regulation of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2)-mediated cell growth by polysialic acid

Polysialic acid (polySia) is a unique polysaccharide that modifies neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) spatiotemporally. Recently, we demonstrated that polySia functions as a reservoir for several neurotrophic factors and neurotransmitters. Here, we showed the direct interaction between polySia and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) by native-PAGE, gel filtration, and surface plasmon resonance. The minimum chain length of polySia required for the interaction with FGF2 was 17. Compared with heparan sulfate, a well known glycosaminoglycan capable of forming a complex with FGF2, polySia formed a larger complex with distinct properties in facilitating oligomerization of FGF2, as well as in binding to FGF receptors. In polySia-NCAM-expressing NIH-3T3 cells, which were established by transfecting cells with either of the plasmids for the expression of the polysialyltransferases ST8SiaII/STX and ST8SiaIV/PST that can polysialylate NCAM, FGF2-stimulated cell growth, but not cell survival, was inhibited. Taken together, these results suggest that polySia-NCAM might be involved in the regulation of FGF2-FGF receptor signaling through the direct binding of FGF2 in a manner distinct from heparan sulfate.