Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 139 Middle Renmin Road, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China.
Department of Health Management Center, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, 61 Jiefang West Road, Changsha, 410005, Hunan, China.
Lipids Health Dis. 2019 Sep 14;18(1):173. doi: 10.1186/s12944-019-1113-5.
Sialic acid (Sia), the acylated derivative of the nine-carbon sugar neuraminic acid, is a terminal component of the oligosaccharide chains of many glycoproteins and glycolipids. In light of its important biological and pathological functions, the relationship between Sia and coronary artery disease (CAD) has been drawing great attentions recently. Large-scale epidemiological surveys have uncovered a positive correlation between plasma total Sia and CAD risk. Further research demonstrated that N-Acetyl-Neuraminic Acid, acting as a signaling molecule, triggered myocardial injury via activation of Rho/ROCK-JNK/ERK signaling pathway both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, there were some evidences showing that the aberrant sialylation of low-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein receptor and blood cells was involved in the pathological process of atherosclerosis. Significantly, the Sia regulates immune response by binding to sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin (Siglecs). The Sia-Siglecs axis is involved in the immune inflammation of atherosclerosis. The generation of Sia and sialylation of glycoconjugate both depend on many enzymes, such as sialidase, sialyltransferase and trans-sialidase. Abnormal activation or level of these enzymes associated with atherosclerosis, and inhibitors of them might be new CAD treatments. In this review, we focus on summarizing current understanding of Sia metabolism and of its relevance to atherosclerosis.
唾液酸（Sia）是九碳糖神经氨酸的酰化衍生物，是许多糖蛋白和糖脂的寡糖链的末端组成部分。鉴于其重要的生物学和病理学功能，Sia 与冠状动脉疾病（CAD）之间的关系最近引起了广泛关注。大规模的流行病学调查揭示了血浆总 Sia 与 CAD 风险之间存在正相关关系。进一步的研究表明，N-乙酰神经氨酸作为一种信号分子，通过激活 Rho/ROCK-JNK/ERK 信号通路，在体外和体内均引发心肌损伤。此外，有一些证据表明，低密度脂蛋白、低密度脂蛋白受体和血细胞的异常唾液酸化参与了动脉粥样硬化的病理过程。值得注意的是，Sia 通过与唾液酸结合免疫球蛋白样凝集素（Siglec）结合来调节免疫反应。Sia-Siglec 轴参与动脉粥样硬化的免疫炎症反应。糖缀合物的 Sia 生成和唾液酸化都依赖于许多酶，如唾液酸酶、唾液酸转移酶和转唾液酸酶。这些酶的异常激活或水平与动脉粥样硬化有关，它们的抑制剂可能成为 CAD 的新治疗方法。在这篇综述中，我们重点总结了目前对 Sia 代谢及其与动脉粥样硬化相关性的认识。
