Foreword

The sialic acid family is comprised of carboxylated 9-carbon sugars (nonulosonic acids) that are found predominantly at the terminal ends of carbohydrate chains (glycans) on glycoproteins and glycolipids. Since their discovery in the late 1930s, and subsequent naming by Blix, Gottschalk and Klenk (Nature. 1957; 179: 1088), sialic acids are now recognized as occurring ubiquitously in the animal kingdom. Due to their unique chemical and physical properties, diversity of structure and exposed position, sialic acids have been implicated in numerous essential biological processes, such as neural cell growth and embryogenesis, stem cell biology, immune system regulation, human evolution, cancer progression, and microbial pathogenesis.

The growing awareness about the significance of sialic acids in human health and disease has led to an increase in research into sialic acid chemistry, biochemistry and cell biology. A eBook devoted to the description of sialic acid structure and biosynthesis, as well as the function of sialic acid in healthy cell function and disease is long overdue. In fact since the last comprehesive book published in the field in 1995 (“Biology of the Sialic Acids” by Abraham Rosenberg) the field of Sialobiology has exponentially grown. For example, many of the key enzymes involved in sialic acid biosynthesis, as well as the vast majority of sialic acid binding lectins involved in immune recognition, have only been cloned, characterised and structurally eluciated since the publication of “Biology of the Sialic Acids”. Therefore, this eBook is very timely and will prove to be an excellent reference work for a wide range of biomedical research scientists.