Chapter 6

Mammalian Sialidases

Tadashi Suzuki and Kazunori Yamaguchi

Abstract

Sialic acids (Sia) play major roles in glycan-mediated recognition/interaction processes, which are mediated by various intrinsic and extrinsic sialic acid-binding proteins. Cells therefore require fine-tuned mechanisms to regulate cell-surface expression of sialoglycoconjugates. In mammalian cells, there are 4 distinct sialidases, termed NEU1, NEU2, NEU3 and NEU4, involved in the removal of sialic acid residues from glycoconjugates; they play pivotal roles in diverse biological processes. In this chapter we summarize our current knowledge on mammalian sialidases.

Total Pages: 188-208 (21)

Purchase Chapter  Book Details