Pasteurella multocida (Pm) is a multi-species pathogen that causes diseases in animals and humans. Sialyltransferase activity has been detected in multiple Pm strains and sialylation has been shown to be important for the pathogenesis of Pm. Three putative sialyltransferase genes have been identified in Pm genomic strain Pm70. We have reported previously that a Pm0188 gene...
Trans-sialidases catalyze the transfer of a sialic acid from one sialoside to an acceptor to form a new sialoside. α2,3-Trans-sialidase activity was initially discovered in the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, and more recently was found in a multifunctional Pasteurella multocida sialyltransferase PmST1. α2,8-Trans-sialidase activity was also described for a multifunctional...
Sialyl Lewisx (SLex, Siaα2–3Galβ1–4(Fucα1–3)GlcNAcβOR) is an important sialic acid-containing carbohydrate epitope involved in many biological processes such as inflammation and cancer metastasis. In the biosynthetic process of SLex, α2–3-sialyltransferase-catalyzed sialylation generally proceeds prior to α1–3-fucosyltransferase-catalyzed fucosylation. For the chemoenzymatic...
Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of the American trypanosomiasis or Chagas disease, bypasses its lack of de novo synthesis of sialic acids by expressing a surface-anchored trans-sialidase. This enzyme transfers sialic acid residues from the host's sialylglycoconjugates to the parasite's galactosylglycoconjugates. In addition to carrying out a pivotal role in parasite persistence...
CstII from bacterium Campylobacter jejuni strain OH4384 has been previously characterized as a bifunctional sialyltransferase having both α2,3-sialyltransferase (GM3 oligosaccharide synthase) and α2,8-sialyltransferase (GD3 oligosaccharide synthase) activities which catalyze the transfer of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) from cytidine 5′-monophosphate (CMP)-Neu5Ac to C-3′ of...
Lewis x (Lex) and sialyl Lewis x (SLex)-containing glycans play important roles in numerous physiological and pathological processes. The key enzyme for the final step formation of these Lewis antigens is α1-3-fucosyltransferase. Here we report molecular cloning and functional expression of a novel Helicobacter hepaticus α1-3-fucosyltransferase (HhFT1) which shows activity...
