Occurrence of the human tumor-specific antigen structure Galβ1-3GalNAcα- (Thomsen-Friedenreich) and related structures on gut bacteria: prevalence, immunochemical analysis and structural confirmation.

The Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen (TF; CD176, Galβ1-3GalNAcα-) is a tumor-specific carbohydrate antigen and a promising therapeutic target. Antibodies that react with this antigen are frequently found in the sera of healthy adults and are assumed to play a role in cancer immunosurveillance. In this study, we examined the occurrence of α-anomeric TF (TFα) on a large variety of gastrointestinal bacteria using a novel panel of well-characterized monoclonal antibodies.

Invasion of Trypanosoma cruzi into host cells is impaired by N-propionylmannosamine and other N-acylmannosamines.

The etiologic agent of Chagas' disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, is widely distributed in South America, affecting millions of people with thousands of deaths every year. Adherence of the infectious trypomastigote to host cells is mediated by sialic acid. T.

Liver-specific increase of UTP and UDP-sugar concentrations in rats induced by dietary vitamin B6-deficiency and its relation to complex N-glycan structures of liver membrane-proteins.

This is the first known report on the influence of vitamin B6-deficiency on the concentration of UDP-sugars and other uracil nucleotides in rats. Animals aged 3 weeks or 2 months were fed a vitamin B6-free diet for periods varying from 3 days to 7 weeks. Nucleotides were quantified by enzymatic-photometry and by SAX-high precision liquid chromatography.

Engineering the sialic acid in organs of mice using N-propanoylmannosamine.

Sialic acids play an important role during development, regeneration and pathogenesis. The precursor of most physiological sialic acids, such as N-acetylneuraminic acid is N-acetyl-D-mannosamine. Application of the novel N-propanoylmannosamine leads to the incorporation of the new sialic acid N-propanoylneuraminic acid into cell surface glycoconjugates.

The ether lipid inositol-C2-PAF is a potent inhibitor of cell proliferation in HaCaT cells.

The search for specific anticancer drugs that do not interfere with DNA synthesis or influence the cytoskeleton has led to the development of modified phospholipids with antiproliferative properties. These compounds cause remodeling of the structure and function of plasma membranes. Recently, we described novel compounds, the glycosidated phospholipids, that surprisingly inhibit cell proliferation.

Selective inhibition of polysialyltransferase ST8SiaII by unnatural sialic acids.

Polysialic acid (polySia) is a unique and highly regulated posttranslational modification of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). The presence of polySia affects NCAM-dependent cell adhesion and plays an important role during brain development, neural regeneration and plastic processes including learning and memory. Polysialylated NCAM is expressed on several neuroendocrine tumors of high malignancy and correlates with poor prognosis.

Expression, purification, and characterization of human dipeptidyl peptidase IV/CD26 in Sf9 insect cells.

The human dipeptidyl peptidase IV/CD26 (DPPIV/CD26) is a multifunctional type-II membrane bound glycoprotein. As a receptor of collagen I and fibronectin it mediates cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion, and by interacting with extracellular adenosine deaminase and CD45 it is involved in regulatory and costimulatory events in the immune system. DPPIV/CD26 has a very distinct substrate specificity, and is potentially capable of truncating many cytokines, chemokines, and peptide hormones.

Purification and characterization of N-acetylneuraminic acid-9-phosphate synthase from rat liver.

Sialic acids are a group of carboxylated amino sugars important for a variety of cellular functions. N-Acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) is the predominant sialic acid in nature. Neu5Ac-9-phosphate synthase catalyzes the formation of Neu5Ac-9-phosphate from N-acetylmannosamine-6-phosphate and phosphoenolpyruvate.