Sialic Acid Activation
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Glycobiology vol. 1 no. 5 pp. 441-447, 1991 MINI REVIEW Sialic acid activation Edward L.Kean a few instances has the sugar nucleotide actually been measured in animal tissues. Harms et al. (1973) determined the con- Department of Ophthalmology and the Department of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA centration of CMP-NeuAc in rat liver to be 40.8 nmol/g tissue. The pool size of CMP-NeuAc in Chinese hamster ovary cells Cytidine 5-monophosphosialic acid (CMP-sialic acid) is the was measured by Briles et al. (1977) (1.6 nmol/mg cell activated form of sialic acid which is required for the bio- protein). Corfield et al. (1976) reported the presence of CMP- synthesis of sialic acid-containing complex carbohydrates. NeuAc and CMP-9-O-Ac-NeuAc in bovine submandibular Its discovery over 30 years ago by the laboratory of Dr Saul glands, and provided a partial identification. Carey and Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/glycob/article/1/5/441/621435 by guest on 01 October 2021 Roseman was a landmark in research dealing with the bio- Hirschberg (1979) isolated CMP-NeuAc from mouse liver and synthesis of these compounds. A review is presented of the determined its concentration (37 nmol/g). salient features concerning this molecule: its discovery, The enzymatic synthesis of CMP-NeuAc was reported by chemistry, biosynthesis, subcellular location, enzymatic Roseman (1962) using a preparation from hog submaxillary cleavage, transport and molecular biology. This report does glands, and by Warren and Blacklow (1962a, b) using a pre- not deal with its utilization by the sialyltransferases. paration from Neisseria meningitidis. CMP-sialic acid is synthesized by the following reaction: CTP + sialic acid -• Key words: cytidine 5'-monophosphosialic acid/CMP-sialic CMP-sialic acid + PPi. Unlike the synthesis of other sugar acid/synthetase/hydrolase/subcellular location nucleotides which involves a reaction between a nucleotide triphosphate and a sugar-1-phosphate, the biosynthesis of CMP- sialic acid is unique in using the non-phosphorylated sugar donor (a reaction which also occurs in the formation of CMP- KDO). Subsequently, several laboratories described the syn- Properties of CMP-NeuAc and CMP-NeuAc synthetase thesis of CMP-NeuAc, among which are reports by Shoyab et al. (1964) using a preparation from sheep brain; Kean and In 1959, Comb, Shimizu and Roseman reported the discovery Roseman (1966a, b) using preparations from hog submaxillary of a new sugar nucleotide, CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid gland and E.coli; van den Eijnden et al. (1972) with a calf brain (CMP-NeuAc)1. The compound was isolated from the cells of preparation; Hultsch et al. (1972), from rat liver; Schauer Escherichia coli K-235, the organism that produces a homo- et al. (1980) on a frog liver preparation. The properties of the polymer of sialic acid, colominic acid. Now, some 30 years compounds synthesized by these sources were similar in terms later, the gene governing its synthesis has been cloned. The of composition, chemical and enzymatic reactivity and stability, intervening years saw the wide demonstration that CMP-sialic and chromatographic properties such as great sensitivity to acid was the activated form of sialic acid required for the bio- acid; relatively stable at neutral or alkaline pH; resistance to the synthesis of sialic acid-containing complex carbohydrates. The actions of 5' nucleotidase, phosphodiesterase, phosphatase, discovery was a key one in furthering our understanding of the neuraminaldolase and neuraminidases; under acid conditions biosynthesis of this class of compounds. Although but a one- they underwent typical colorimetric reactions for sialic acid; page letter to the Editor, this initial report revealed many of the resistance to reduction with NaBHj. In general, the enzymes properties of this unique compound. This preliminary com- synthesizing CMP-NeuAc from all sources examined also had munication was followed by an extensive characterization of similar properties, as summarized in Table I. Unlike the CMP-NeuAc from E.coli K-235 (Comb et al., 1966). The most enzymes from N.meningitidis and E.coli K-235, the prepara- unique characteristic of the compound was the presence of one tions from the animal tissues (submaxillary gland, sheep brain, instead of two phosphate residues as is found in other sugar retina, rat liver) also functioned with N-glycolylneuraminic nucleotides, a property shared with only one other molecule of acid (NeuGc) as substrate. Also, unlike the enzyme from this type, CMP-3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonate (CMP-KDO; N. meningitidis, the reaction carried out by the hog submaxillary Ghalambor and Heath, 1966), a compound involved in bacterial enzyme was shown to be reversible (Kean and Roseman, cell wall biosynthesis. 1966a, b); the ratio of the forward reaction to the reverse While the biosynthesis of CMP-NeuAc has been readily reaction was estimated to be - 1000:1. Reversibility could not demonstrated in a variety of animal tissues (see below), in only be detected with the enzyme from sheep brain (Shoyab et al., 1964). (This property was not reported in the other tissues.) The possibility that carboxyl activation might be involved in the 'The nomenclature in common use in this field is followed in which the term 'sialic acid' is the family name of the group of nine carbon amino sugar formation of CMP-NeuAc by the mammalian enzyme was acids having an acyl group on the amino nitrogen. Individual sialic acids ruled out in view of the lack of hydroxamate formation during are derivatives of neuraminic acid, such as AZ-acetylneuraminic acid or NeuAc, the reaction (Kean and Roseman, 1966a). whose systematic name is 5-acetamido-3,5-dideoxy-D-glycero-r>-galacto- The anomeric configuration about carbon atom 2 of the sialic nonulosonic acid. acid portion of CMP-NeuAc has been controversial. On the This review is dedicated to Dr Saul Roseman as part of a symposium in his honour at the 1 lth International Symposium on Glycoconjugates, held on June basis of its chemical properties and optical rotation, and 30-July 5, 1991, in Toronto, Canada. assuming that the Hudson isorotation rules applied, the linkage © Oxford University Press 441 E.L.Kean TaMe I. Comparison of properties of CMP-sialic acid synthetases Warren and Blacklow Kean and Roseman Shoyab van den Eijnden Kean Van Dijk Schauer (1962a, b) (1966a, b) et al. (1964) et al. (1972) (1970) et al. (1973) et al. (1980) Form of enzyme Soluble Soluble Soluble Soluble Nuclear Nuclear Soluble Tissue Neisseria meningitidis Hog submaxillary Sheep brain Calf brain Hog retina, Kidney cortex Frog liver rat liver Km (NeuAc) 0.25 mM 0.8 mM 06 mM 0 90 mM 0.72 mM 1.6 mM 1.6 mM Km (NeuGc) Inactive 2.3 mM 2.3 mM - 1.40 mM - 2 3 mM Km (CTP) 0.56 mM 060 mM 1.8 mM 0.50 mM 0.48 mM 1.6 mM 0 6 mM pH optimum 8.5 90 8.0 9.0 8.5 8.5-9.0 9.0 Fold purified 205^03 264-528 39 4.9 - - 250 Sulphydryl requirement Required Stabilizing Stimulatory Present Stabilizing Stabilizing Present Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/glycob/article/1/5/441/621435 by guest on 01 October 2021 Reversibility No Yes No - - - - Stability Freeze/thaw Crude, stable Crude, stable - Stable Unstable Unstable Purified, unstable Purified, unstable Purified, stable 4°C Stable (2 weeks) Stable (3 weeks) Stable Stable Stable (1 week) Stable, 1 week (2 weeks) Metal; optimal Mg; (25 mM) Mg; (20 mM) Mg; (30 mM) Mg; (40 mM) Mg; (20 mM) Mg; (3.0 mM) Mg or Ca; concentration (50 mM) was suggested to be (3 by Comb et al. (1966). This assignment 1971). The nuclear location of the sialic acid-activating enzyme received support by the study of Haverkamp et al. (1979) who was firmly established by studies using highly purified nuclei examined the anomeric configuration by means of I4C NMR from hog retina, rat liver, kidney, spleen and brain (Kean, spectroscopy. Stone and Kolodny (1971), however, have con- 1970, 1972a). When corrected for the yield of nuclei, from cluded from circular dichroism studies of CMP-NeuAc that the 54 to 90% of the total activity could be ascribed to the nuclei ketosidic linkage is a. Indirect support for the /3 configuration from these several tissues. The kinetic properties and stability may be obtained from the investigations of Yu and Ledeen of the nuclear enzyme were similar to those of the soluble form (1969), who examined the stereochemistry of the two anomeric described previously, as seen in Table I. methyl ketosides of NeuAc. The configuration to which the With the possibility that the nuclear location was due to a-D assignment was made was susceptible to the action of artifactual redistribution of cellular constituents as a result of neuraminidase, while the /3 ketoside was resistant. CMP-NeuAc homogenization, the nuclear location of CMP-NeuAc syn- has been observed to be resistant to the action of neuraminidase, thetase was examined further by employing a procedure to consistent with the /3 assignment. Since the configuration of fractionate the cell that did not involve homogenization. Harvey sialic acid in glycoconjugates occurs only with the a con- (1956) demonstrated that unfertilized sea urchin eggs could be figuration, a single inversion of configuration would, therefore, segmented into nucleate and non-nucleate portions merely by accompany the transfer of sialic acid from the sugar nucleotide centrifugation. Fractions (halves and quarters of the eggs) thus to the acceptor. enriched with nuclei can be obtained by this mild procedure. The distribution of CMP-sialic acid synthetase was followed in the nucleate and anucleate segments, and was observed to accompany the nuclear-enriched fractions (Kean and Bruner, Subcellular location; nuclear CMP-NeuAc synthetase 1971), an observation consistent with the nuclear location of the CMP-NeuAc synthetase examined in each of the reports enzyme.